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HIS  HOLINESS  PIUS   X. 

Two  Hundred  and  Sixty-Fourth  Occupant  of  the  Chair 
of  Peter. 


Trials  and  Triumphs 


-OF  THE- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


J^^^^^^^^^J^^^^^ 


DURING    FOUR    HUNDRED    YEARS,    FROM   THE   LANDING 
OF    THE    FIRST    MISSIONARY    TO    THE     PRESENT    TIME 

PUBLISHED    WITH    THE    APPROBATION    OF    HIS     GRACE 
THE  MOST  REVEREND  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CHICAGO 

EDITED  FROM  AUTHENTIC  RECORDS 

BY 

PROFESSOR  P.  J.  MAHON, 
REV.  J.  M.  HAYES,  S.J. 

WITH    PREFACE   BY 

PROFESSOR    M.   F.    EGAN,  LL.D. 

CATHOLIC  -UNIVERSITY,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
VOLUME    I. 

EMBELLISHED    WITH  NUMEROUS    ENGR AVISOS 


J.     S.     HYLAND     &     COMPANY 

CHICAGO 


IMPRIMATUR: 

*  Patrick  A.  Feehan, 

Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Copyright  igoy,  by 
J.  S.  HYLAND  Q  CO 


6i 

)HOI 


Cardinal's  Residence 
Baltimore,   Md. 
J.    S.   Hyland  &  Co. 

Dear  Sirs: — A  second  and  more  carefid  perusal  of  "Trials  and  Tri- 
umphs" has  increased  my  appreciation  of  the  zvork.  The  copx  which  you 
kindly  sent  me  and  for  zi'hich  I  return  you  my  sincere  thanks,  is  indeed 
handsomely  bound  and  illustrated,  and  ivill  prove  an  ornament  to  any  library. 
But  more  noteivorthy  still  is  the  great  amount  of  solid  historical  .matter 
Zi'hich  you  hazr  put  in  the  volume. 

I  find  there  embodied  all  the  most  salient  points  of  American  Catho- 
lic History  for  the  last  four  hundred  years;  and  you  have  presented  them  in 
very  readable  form  and  very  entertaining  style. 

These  facts  zvhich  our  people  should  knozv  intimately  and  perfectly,  are 
thus  made  very  accessible  to  all.  The  zvork  will  be  a  valuable  hand-book 
of  ready  reference,  which  should  be  found  on  the  desk  of  every  student  and 
on  the  tables  of  every  family;  so  that  its  contents  may  become  familiar  to 
everyone. 

We  have  done  so  much  in  the  discovery,  exploration  and  dez'clopment 
of  this  country;  the  heroic  labors  of  Catholic  missionaries,  and  saintly  and 
learned  bishops,  and  priests  have  penetrated  into  so  jnauy  corners  of  the 
land,  that  it  were  ungrateful  not  to  make  their  names  household  words 
among  all  who  bear  the  glorious  title  of  Catholic.  I  feel  that  "Trials  and 
Triumphs,"  zvhich  you  so  opportunely  place  before  the  American  public,  is 
destined  to  bring  them  into  greater  prominence  and  .died  brilliant  lustre  on 
the  Church  of  Christ  zvhich  begot  them  and  sent  them  forth  on  their  mission 
of  love  and  benevolence. 

I  take  special  pleasure  in  referring  to  the  admirable  Preface  from  the 
gifted  pen  of  Mr.  M.  F.  Egan,  in  zvhich  are  so  beautifully  e.vpressed  the  key- 
note, spirit  and  scope  of  your  efforts. 

The  imprimatur  of  the  Most  Reverend  Metropolitan  of  Chicago  is  at 
once  an  evidence  of  the  book's  value  and  an  assurance  of  succe.'^s. 

I  bespeak  for  it  a  deep  appreciation  and  an  e.rtcnded  circulation.  Be- 
lieve me  to  be,  faithfully  and  sincerely  yours  in  Xto. 

Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 


T 


REFACE. 


THE  honest  American  citizen  possesses  two  things  which  he  may  leave  to 
his  children,  and  these  two  things  are  more  precious  than  gold — they 
are  love  of  God  and  love  of  country.  The  child  that  learns  from  his 
father  or  mother  that  he,  being  a  Catholic,  can  be  no  alien  on  American  soil, 
is  rich — for  he  has  the  best  of  all  knowledge  in  his  possession,  and  knowledge 
makes  him  the  equal  of  any  other  man. 

Knowledge  is  power.  Kno^vledge  is  strength.  Knowledge  is  the  key 
opening  all  doors;  and  in  this  book  lies  that  knowledge  which  causes  our  chil- 
dren to  know  and  love  their  freedom,  and  which  will  give  them  the  weapons 
necessary  to  defend  their  right  to  enjoy  all  the  blessings  of  a  land  which  their 
ancestors  in  the  faith  of  the  Catholic  Church  discovered,  and  in  which  other 
ancestors  of  theirs  in  the  Catholic  faith  proclaimed  freedom  of  conscience  for 
the  first  time. 

"Your  father  was  a  foreigner,"  the  descendant  of  the  Mayflower  pilgrims 
may  say,  "therefore  I  am  more  of  an  American  than  you."  "You  are  a  for- 
eigner," tliat  living  libel  on  American  institutions,  the  modern  Know-nothing 
may  sneer,  "You  are  a  Catholic;  this  is  a  Protestant  country." 

Without  a  knowledge  of  the  truth,  your  child  may  blush  and  hang  his  head 
and  be  ashamed  of  his  father.  Without  a  knowledge  of  the  truth,  you  may  bt 
unable  to  meet  the  sneers  of  your  neighbor,  though  your  heart  may  be  bitte> 
within  you,  and  }0U  may  desire  with  all  your  might  to  assert  your  right  to  tho 
country  in  which  you  live.  But  how  pcrwerless  will  you  and  your  child  b« 
without  the  knowledge  that  this  book  contains.  In  truth,  it  holds  your  title- 
deeds  to  vour  land.  Moreover,  it  is  an  education  in  itself;  and,  though  you  may 
not  be  able  to  send  your  son  to  college,  here  he  will  gain  the  substance  of  the 
lectures  of  many  professors.  And,  if  your  children  are  too  small  to  read,  you 
or  their  mother  may  be  their  instructor  in  their  rights  and  liberties.  No  man 
with  a  sensitive  heart  and  high  aspirations  can  fail  to  find  himself  thrilled  and 
elevated  bv  the  recital  of  the  deeds  of  his  spiritual  ancestors.  And  Columbus, 
the  Christ-bearer,  and  Las  Casas,  the  saintly  priest,  and  Father  Marquette,  and 
Father  Jogues,  and  Charles  Carroll,  and  Roger  Taney,  and  a  hundred  other 
illustrious  men  who  helped  to  create  and  to  preserve  American  liberties,  were 
nurtured  in  that  faith  which  is  our  most  precious  treasure. 

The  Catholic  Church  produced  them;  the  Cathohc  Church  nourished  them 

for  that   Church  in  all  ages  has  taught  that    the    sweetest    of   all  things  is 

freedom.  Had  the  Catholic  barons  of  England,  with  a  Catholic  bishop  at  their 
head,  never  wrested  the  Magna  Charta  from  their  tyrant  king,  George  Wash- 


ington  could  never  have  learned  that  freedom  was  his  right.  Had  the  Fran- 
ciscan and  Dominican  friars  not  tiiirsted  with  Columbus  for  the  salvation  of 
souls  in  the  Indies,  the  Santa  Maria  and  the  Pinta  would  never  have  sailed  from 
Palos.  And  of  the  discoverers  of  America,  spoken  of  by  tradition  before  Co- 
lumbus, one  was  St.  Brendan,  a  Catholic  Irishman;  the  other,  a  Catholic  Norse- 
man. The  first  book  printed  in  all  America  was  the  work  of  Catholics;  and  so 
was  the  first  college.  The  bravest  of  all  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, Charles  Carroll,  was  a  Catholic.  His  brother,  the  Archbishop, 
helped,  too,  to  lay  the  foundation  of  our  present  freedom.  The  French  soldiers 
who  came  to  the  assistance  of  George  Washington  when  all  was  darkest,  were 
sent  by  a  devoutly  Catholic  king  and  queen,  Louis  X\T  and  Marie  Antoinette. 
And  the  bravest  among  them  were  of  that  Irish  Brigade  whose  only  regret 
was  that  they  were  debarred  from  fighting  for  the  liberties  of  their  own  land; — 
strii,  there  are  those  who  have  the  effrontery  to  call  us  strangers  in  a  country 
which  owes  everything  to  Columbus,  who,  in  a  manner,  brought  it  out  of  chaos 
and  illumined  its  darkness  by  the  light  of  the  cross. 

"I  should  have  sunk  back  many  a  time,"  said  the  late  General  Sherman,  "if 
it  were  not  for  the  encouragement  of  my  wife."  That  noble  wife  w-as  a  Cath- 
olic. General  Sheridan  took  every  occasion  to  show  how  grateful  he  was  to 
that  devout  Catholic  mother  who  gladly  gave  him  to  his  country.  And  shall 
we  forget  Thomas  Francis  Meagher  and  General  Shields  and  Colonel  Mulligan, 
and  hosts  of  others? 

But  how  shall  we  remember  our  claims  to  citizenship  in  this  glorious  coun- 
try if  we  do  not  realize  them — if  we  do  not  know  them?  It  is  not  necessary 
that  we  should  have  a  great  library  in  order  to  know  them,  and  to  make  our 
children  proud  of  their  birthright.  Here  they  arc  in  the  pages  before  you. 
Here  they  are  told  by  some  of  the  wisest  and  most  eloquent  and  most  earnest 
writers  of  our  time.  Here  you  will  find  the  red  in  Columbia's  flag  is  tlie  red 
of  Catholic  blood,  the  white  the  purity  of  Catholic  zeal,  and  the  blue  the  color 
of  the  Immaculate  Patroness  whom  Columbus  and  Balboa,  De  Smet  and 
Charles  Carroll  and  Cardinal  Cheverus  and  Roger  Taney  and  Orestes  Brown- 
son  loved  and  trusted  as  we  do. 

Compared  with  our  part  in  the  history  of  America,  the  coming  of  the  May- 
flower is  but  an  episode.  Open  this  book,  and  a  new  and  splendid  world  of 
knowledge  spreads  before  us.  We  find  our  own  again,  and  we  claim  it.  In- 
solence and  bigotry  can  no  longer  make  us  angry  and  silent.  Mass  was  said  on 
this  soil  before  the  spire  of  a  meeting-house  rose  in  Virginia,  or  among  the 
New  England  hills.  After  this,  who  shall  dare  in  our  presence  to  call  America 
a  Protestant  country?  We  have  only  to  open  this  book  to  behold  splendid 
scenes  of  history,  bloody  scenes  of  mart)Tdom,  tranquil  scenes  of  peace  in 
which  the  actors  are  of  that  faith  which  is  the  breath  of  our  nostrils,  the  core 
of  our  hearts,  and  which  discovered  and  preserved  America! 

MAURICE  FRANCIS  EGAN,  LL.D. 
Catholic  University,  Washington,  D.  C. 


CONTBNTS, 
Vol.  I. 


CHAPTER     I. 

THE    CROSS    BORXE    TO   AMERICA. 

HISTORY  as  the  Antidote  of  Bigotry.— A  Brave  and  Pious  Sailor.— Strange  Vicissi- 
tudes of  Life.— Discovery  on  tlie  Brain.— A  Mendicant  with  Great  Dreams.— 
Home  and  Hope  in  a  Convent.— Influence  of  a  Queen's  Confessor.— Crown 
Jewels  Offered  for  Pawn.— Preparing  a  Great  Expedition.- Columbus  Puts  Out 
*.o  Sea.— Blessings  on  the  Venturesome  Mariners 


CHAPTER    II. 

CAREER   OF   A   GREAT   DISCOVERER. 

CNC'IDENTS  on  the  Ocean  Wave.— Pious  Hymns  to  Our  Lady.— Mutiny  Among  the 
Sailors.— First  Sight  of  Land.— Thanksgiving  Before  the  Cross.— The  Natives  and 
Their  Fair  Domain.— Wreck  of  the  Admiral's  Ship.— Sent  Home  in  Chains.— 
Evening  of  a  Saintly  Life.— The  End  and  the  World's  Tribute 


CHAPTER    III. 

FAMOUS    SPANISH    EXPLORERS. 

ALONZO  de  Oj«da.— Fierce  American  Natives.— Proclaiming  the  True  Faith.— Death 
of  an  Aged  Pilot.— The  Commander's  Gallantry.— Shipwrecked  on  Cuban  Shores. 
—The  Fatal  March.— The  Indians  of  Comagrc— Balboa's  Rash  Expedition.- Joy 
on  Discovering  the  Pacific— Ponce  de  Leon  and  the  Fountain  of  Youth.— A 
Wairior's   Death   and   Epitaph 50 

CHAPTER    IV. 

THE    EMPIRE   OF   THE    AZTECS. 

YOUTH  and  Training  of  Cortes.— A  Vast  and  Daring  Enterprise.— Following  the 
Velvet  Banner.— Eventful  March  In  Mexico.— The  Beautiful  City.- Capture  of 
the  Emperor.— A  Stubborn  Siege.  — Battle  and  Bloodshed.— Conquest  of  the  Cap- 
ital.—Later  Years  of  the  Conqueror.— Conversion  of  a  Whole  Race 68 

CHAPTER  V. 

IN    THE    SOUTHERN    CONTIXEXT. 

AalERICUS  the  Explorer —Columbus  Gives  a  Testimonial— Naming  of  a  Continent.— 
Ideas  on  CircJing  the  Globe.— Prayer  on  the  Path  of  Discovery.— Magellan 
Rounds  Cape  Horn —Among  Savage  Islanders.— Pizarro  the  Conqueror.— In  the 
Land  of  the  Incas.— Fighting  Near  the  Andes.— Murder  of  a  Brave  Com- 
mander.—The   Church    94 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE    TRUE    LORDS    OF   THE    SOIL. 

tiOD  Guiding  the  Discoverers.— America's  Native  Tribes.- The  Indian  Life  and  Cus- 
toms.- Hunting  for  Subsistence.— War  as  a  Lifelong  Trade.— The  Great  Tribes 
of  the  Continent.— Crude  Notions  of  the  Deity.— The  Harmony  of  Indian  Names. 
—  Missionaries  Who  Made  Books.— Las  Casas.  Bishop  and  Historian.— First 
Ordination   In   America 110 

CHAPTER   VII. 

'WORK    OF   SPANISH    MISSIONARIES. 

ROME  Proclaims  the  Field.— Twelve  Franciscan  Apostles.— Wanderings  of  Friar 
Mark.— Father  Padllla  and  Brother  John.— Kxpedlilon  of  DeSolo— The  Long 
and  Terrible  March.— The  Leader's   Death  and   Tomb.- Don   Tristan  as  an  Ex- 

£lorer.— An    Admiral    Seeks    His   Son.— Founding    of   Florida's    Capital.— Father 
tarllnez  Gains  His  Crown 127 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

IX    THK    LAND    OK    FLOWERS. 

JESriTS  Obtain  a  Province— Worklnp  Ilcyoncl  State  Lines.— A  Superior  Class  of 
Native.-*.— The  FouiKlInc  of  a  Jesuit  Keiluctlon.— Another  Band  of  Kr.-inclscans. 
— Attarka  on  Many  Missionaries.- A  Mass  and  Then  a  Crown.— Long  Con- 
realment  In  a  Tree.— The  British  Game  of  Grab.— Missions  in  New  Mexico  and 
Texas 14! 

CHAPTER  IX. 

E.\nLY   MISSIONS    IX    CALIFORXI.l. 

VISITING  a  NcRlecled  Field.— Bravery  of  Father  King.— The  Black  Gowns  Exiled.— 
Arrival  of  Fathi-r  Serra.— Fonndlnp  of  San  Diego  Mission.— Bad  Indians  Are 
Had  Neighbors— Attacks  on  the  Mission.- Father  Jayme  Falls  a  Victim.— The 
Deviltrj'  of  California  Redskins.— Planting  of  San  Francisco  and  Other  Set- 
tlements.—Plunder  and  Ruin  of  the  Missions.— Dark  Days IKi 

CHAPTER   X. 

THE    CROSS    IX    XEW   FR.\XCE. 

JACQfES  CARTIER  the  Explorer.— The  Baptism  of  St.  Lawrence  River.- Cele- 
bration by  Chiefs  and  Squaws.— The  Commander  Acts  as  Chaplain.— First  Set- 
tlement at  Montreal.— In  the  Name  of  F'rance.— Jacques  Cartler's  Death. — Early 
Life  of  Champlain— Visiting  the  Shores  of  Acadia.— First  Landing  at  Quebec— 
Many  Fervent  Missionaries.- End  of  the  Illustrious  Pioneer 181 

CHAPTER  XI. 
THE   MISSIOXS   IX   MAINE. 

HOW  the  French  Missionaries  Worked.— Arrival  on  the  Shores  of  Maine.- A  Young 
and  Courtly  Envoy.— Sailing  of  Two  Apostles.— Exploits  of  the  Pirate  Argall  — 
Treachery  Ruins  St.  Sauveurs  — The  Cross  on  Kennebec  River.- Father  Rale  In 
the  Field.— Labors.  Plots  and  Persecutions.— Murder  of  Rale.— Woe  of  Abnaki 
Indians.— Later   Apostles   and   Labors 199 

CHAPTER  Xn. 

PIOUS   D.\MES   OF   FR.\XCE. 

THE  HOLY  CHILD  at  Tours.— Becomes  a  Wife  and  Widow.— A  Vision  from  Our 
Lady.— Mary  of  the  Incarnation.- A  Banfi  of  Missionary  T'rsulines.— Work 
Among  Indian  Children— Tolls  and  Privations  of  the  Ladies.— Death  of  Mother 
Mary.— Beautiful  Madame  De  La  I'^ltrie.- Saintly  Jane  Mance.— Story  of  Fair 
Montreal.— Poverty,    Grief   and   Death 2It 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

jovs  .\XD  sonno-ws  of  .*cadia. 

TREACHERY  of  a  Freebooter.— A  Mission  of  Rapine  and  Death —Providence  Shields 
Father  Biard.— Port  Royal  in  Two  Visions —Abnaki  and  Micmac  Tribes— The 
En.elish  De.=ecrate  Port  Royal.— Deep  Desolation  in  the  Land.— Frequent  Change 
of  Masters -Banishment  of  the  Colonists.— Loyalty  in  Exile  and  Dispersion 243 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    MISSIOX    TO    THE    HIROXS. 

LIVES  of  Holinesa  and  Toil.— Father  Caron  and  His  Colleagues.— The  Wyandot  Tr.- 
dians— Father  Brebceut  and  His  Sa\  age  Children.— The  River  Journey  and  the 
Arrival.— Welcome  to  ■^k'hcn."— The  Missicn  Crofs— A  Plague  in  the  Land- 
Superstition  and  Danger.— Glorious  Marlyrdom.— Iroquois  Warriors  and  Their 
Deeds.— Burning  of  a  Martyr's  Church.— Invasion.   Torture   and   Death 272 

CHAPTER   XV. 

AMONG    THE    FIVE    XATIOXS. 

NATIVES  of  Stalwart  Types.— Hurons  in  a  Death  Trap.— Cruelty  of  Mohawk  In- 
dians—Torture of  Father  Isaac  Jogues.— A  Blood-Stained  Journey— Search 
for  Father  Goupil's  Rtmains. — Voyayr  to  Eurone  and  Helurn. — An  Irishman 
on  Manhatlan  Island.— Joy  and  Gratitude.— Revisiting  Old  Scenes— The  Mo- 
hawks   Crown    a    Martyr 293 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

MISSIONS   TO    THE    IROai'OIS. 

WAR   Begun   by    Mohawks,— Torture   of    Father   Poncet.— The    Mission    to  Onondaga.— 
Return   to   Canada.— A    Fiou.s    Indian   Chief.— The    Forest   as   a   Church.— Arrival 
of  Father  Chaumonot.— New   York  w  First   House  of  Worship.— Charges  AgalnsJ 
the    Missionaries.— A    Couneil    at    OnonduKa. —Massacre    of    Hurons.— Death     of 
Father  Le   Moyne.— A  Holy   Indian  Maiden 307 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

INDIANS   BY   THE   irPPER    L.\KES. 

FATHERS  GARREAU  and  Druillettes.— Slain  on  the  Doorstep.— Father  Renard.— A 
Very  Hungry  Journey.— On  Lake  Superior  Shores— Gift  o£  a  Kindly  Squaw.— 
Death  in  the  Far  Wilderness.— Father  Claude  Alloucz  as  an  Apostle.— Noble 
Father  Marquette.- Journey  in  a  Canoe. — Mission  and  Exploration  Work.— 
Down  the  Mississippi.— Sad  Return  and  Death.— Post  Mortem  Honors 333 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

DE    L.V    S.VLLE    THE    EXPLOREU. 

DESCENT  From  Gallant  Stock.— Seeks  a  Life  of  Adventure.— Foundation  of  a 
Colony.  — Honors  from  King  Louis.— Father  Hennepin's  Chapel.— Niagara  Falls 
Discovered.— A  Council  and  a  Great  Journey. — Holy  Sacrifice  at  Mackinaw 
Island.— The  Iroquois  and  the  Miamis.— Down  the  Great  River  to  the  Gulf.— 
The  Return,  Revolt  and  Murder 357 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

TRIBES    OF    THE    ILLINOIS. 

RESULT  of  Marquette's  Labors.- Tough  Subjects  for  Mission  Work.— A  Station 
with  the  Pporias.— Michael  Ako's  Courtship.— A  Bride  Who  Was  a  Victim.- 
Instruction  by  Means  of  Pictures.— Conversion  of  the  Illinois.— Chief  Chicago  — 
The  Natchez  Tribes.- Indian  Sun-Worshippers. — Remnants  of  the  Illinois.— Re- 
moval  to   the  Far  West 374 

CHAPTER   XX. 

LABORS   OF    FATHER   DE    SMET. 

YOUTH  in  Belgium.- Receives  a  Holy  Vocation.— As  a  Priest  at  Sugar  Creek.— En- 
during Many  Privations.— Annoyance  from  Drunken  Indians.— Dangers  and 
Toils  of  the  Mission.— Mastering  Savage  Dialects.- The  Mormon  Movement  to 
Utah.— A  Jesuit  Made  U.  S.  Chaplain.— Many  Labors  and  Successes.— The  Edify- 
ing  Close 386 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  VENERABLE  MARGARET  BOURGEOIS. 

CHILDHOOD  at  Troyes.  in  France.— The  New  Spirit  of  Vocation.— Decides  to  Be- 
come a  Nun.— Foundation  of  a  Community.— Sister  Margaret  Gives  All  Her 
Wealth.— The  Voyage  to  New  France.— Convent  Life  In  Montreal.— Penury  of 
Home  and  Table.— P'ounding  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.— Trials,  Tolls  and  Con- 
solations.—A    Blessed    Death 420 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

CANONIZED    SAINTS   OF    .IMERICA. 

SANCTITY  in  the  New  World.— A  Sainted  Archbishop.— St.  Peter  Clavcr  the  Domin- 
ican.—Giving  Comfort  to  the  Slaves.— Ministering  from  a  Deathbed.— Martyrs 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus.- The  Pious  Virgin  of  Lima.— A  Rose  of  Southern 
Climes.- The  Struggle  for  a  Vocation.— A  Saint  of  Suffering  and  Sweetness.^ 
Miracles   That  Proved   Holiness.— An   Incorrupt   Body 441 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

FAMOUS   NEW  ^VORLD   SBRINES. 

CONVERSION  of  an  Aztec  Indian.— A  Strange  Mountain  Walk.— Visions  of  the 
Dazzling  Princess.— Message  to  the  Bishop.— Flowers  and  Portrait  as  Tokens. 
—Various  Miracles  at  Guadalupe.— Shrine  of  a  Whole  Nation.— Vow  .of  Breton 
Sailors —Chapel  of  St  Anne  de  Beaupr*.— Relics  and  Miracles.— Other  Shrines 
of  Our  Lady 456 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Ot'R    IIE.4VEXLV    PATHOMCSS. 

SIGNIFICANCE  of  the  Santa  Maria.— The  Great  Discoverer's  Devotion  to  Our 
Lady.— Pletv  of  Navigators  and  Explorers— Ml.'fsUmaries  Who  Honored  Mary  — 
CltleB  and  Churches  Named  for  Her —Mountains,  Lakes  and  Rivers.- Charities 
and  Hospitals  Inspired  by  Her.— Devotees  of  Dirferent  Nations.— Extension  and 
Prevalence   of   the   Sentiment 485 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

the:  first  ENGLISH   MISSIONARY. 

CATHOLICITY  In  the  British  Possessions.— Lord  Baltimore's  Colonial  Scheme.— Ca- 
reer of  Father  Andrew  White.— The  Voyage  oT  Ark  and  Dove.— K.scape  from 
NumerouB  Perils.— On  the  Vlrclnlan  Shore. — Sailing  Up  the  Chesapeake.- 
Among  Kindly  Native  Chiefs —The  King  of  the  Patuxents.— The  Cavaliers  as 
Colonists.— Cecil   Calvert   as   Gracious   Governor 601 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

EARLY   DAYS   IN    MARYL.\ND. 

TBIBES  of  the  Potomac  Region.— A  Pascataway  King.— Choosing  the  Site.— Pur- 
chase of  Land  for  St.  Mary's.— Sketches  by  Father  White.— Building  the  First 
Chapel —Superstition  Among  the  Natives.— Missionary  Toils  and  Successes.- A 
Wolf  Enters  the  Fold— Claiborne  the  Bigot  and  Schemer.— Days  of  Trouble 
and  Persecution.— Father  White's  Exile  and  Death.— Oppression  Displaces 
Freedom 515 


CONTENTS 

Vol.  II. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

CATHOLICITY    DURING    THE    REVOLUTION. 

FIRST  Sl^ns   of  Independence.— Catholics   an   Ill-Treated   Minority.— Patriotism   For- 
gets Persecution.— Memories  of  Ireland   Aid  the  Cause.— Bigotry  of  John  Jay.— 
Maryland    Catholics    Outspoken.— How    Canada    Was    Estrange'd.- John    Carroll 
and   Benjamin   Franklin.— Father  Gibault   Seeking  Alliances.— Help  from  Cath- 
olic France.— English  Toryism.— Washington   Counsels   Liberality 537 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

FIRST   PRELATE   IN   THE   REPUBLIC. 

DESCENT  from  Cavalier  Stock.— A  Touth  In  Penal  Times.— Education  and  Priest- 
hood In  Europe.— Return  to  the  Maryland  Home.— The  Mission  with  Benjamin 
Franklin— Created  a  Prefect  Apostolic— Sings  a  Te  Deum  for  Liberty.— Be- 
comes Bishop  of  Baltimore.— Bringing  in  Priests  and  Religious.— The  Bonaparte- 
Patterson  Marriage. — Elevated  to  an  Archbishopric. — A  Toilsome  Life  and 
Blessed  Death 557 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 
A   HOLY   AMERICAN    FOUNDRESS. 

MARRIAGE  and  Widowhood  of  Catherine  Seton.— Voyage  to  Italy.— Influence  of 
Catholic  Scenes  and  Associations.- Struggles  for  the  Light  of  Faith.— The 
Widow  Returns  Home.— Received  Into  the  Fold.— Charity  to  Little  Children.— 
The  Founding  of  a  Sisterhood.— Growth  of  a  Noble  Institution.— Zeal  and 
Labors  of  the  Foundress.— End  of  a  Holy  Life 67» 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

WORK  OF  THE   METROPOLITAN   SEE. 

OLD  Age  Crowned  with  Blessings.— Death  of  Archbishop  Neale.— A  Lawyer  Who 
Graced  the  Priesthood. — Establishment  of  a  Theological  Seminary. — Early  Days 
at  "The  Mountain." — Consecration  of  Archbishop  Whitefield.— First  Provincial 
Council.— Other  Prelates  and  Assemblies.— Chaplains  for  the  National  Forces.— 
Kenrlck,   Spaulding  and   Bayley.— The  Vatican   Council.— The  Cardinal  Primate..  613 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

MISSIONS   IN   VIRGIM.\. 

FAME  of  the  Old  Dominion.— Memories  of  Long  Past  Missions.— Work  of  Padre 
Segura.— Log  Chapel  on  the  Rappahannock.- Walter  Raleigh's  Expedition.— 
I'lanting  of  the  Anglican  Weed.— Expulsion  of  Irish  Colonists— Penal  Laws 
Against  "Papists."— Father  Carroll  Among  the  Faithful.— AlHlctlons  of  the 
Livingston  Family.— Bishop  Whelan's  Success.— In  Days  of  Civil  War.— Bishop 
Kaln 63S 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE   F.41TH    IN    PENNSYLV.WIA. 

JESUITS  from  Old  Maryland —The  Quaker  Colony  of  Penn— Chapel  In  an  Irish 
Home.— Mr.  Doyle  and  the  Missionary.— First  Philadelphia  Church— Father 
Farmer  and  His  Mission  Journeys. — Friendly  Mennonlle  Colonists.— Priests 
In  Time  of  Plague.— Riots  of  the  Know-Nothlngs.— Career  of  Father  Barber.— 
The   Province   Under   Late   Metropolitans 654 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

THE    NATIVE    AMERICAN    FREXZY. 

BIGOTHY  In  Epidemic  Form.— Free  Worship  and  the  Gonstltullon.— The  Charles- 
Ion  (_\)iivent.— Slanders  on  I'rsullru-  Sisters.  — HlROts  Burn  and  De.-jtroy.— A  Book 
of  Fal.sohood  and  Obscenity.— Maria  Monk  and  Her  Cultured  Friends.- Politi- 
cians Tratllc  III  Prejudice.— Church  Burning  and  Rioting.- Assault  on  a  Vener- 
able Priest.— Bigotry  Not  Yet  Dead 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

IN    THE    ALLEGH.WV    MOIXTAINS. 

SOLITUDE  of  Father  Braeurs.— An  Old  French  Fort.— Father  Smith's  Arrival.— 
Story  or  a  Russian  Prince.— Gallltzln's  Family  and  Youth —Blessing  of  a  Good 
Mother.— Saved  tor  the  Holy  Priesthood.— The  Prince  as  a  Missionary.— Sturdy 
Captain  McGulre.- Labors  for  God  in  the  Hill  Country.— The  Princes  Church 
and  VIllaKe— Devotion  lo  the  Queen  of  Heaven.- A  Saint  Sleeps  in  God.— The 
Pittsburg    Diocese 685 

CHAPTER   XXXV. 

IN    NEW    YORK    CITY. 

MANHATTAN  In  Olden  Times.- Priests  Who  Visited  the  Island.— Ingratitude  and 
UlKotry  of  the  Dutch.— Governor  Dungan.— Terrorism  Among  the  Faithful  — 
Hanging  of  a  F'riest.— The  I'nconquerable  Jesuits.— Arnold  the  Betrayer.— Re- 
turn of  Toleration.— Old  St.  Peter's  Church.— Rioters  Baffled  at  St.  Patrick's.- 
Manhattan  Converts.— The  First  Bishop  of  New  York.— His  Famous  Successors..  701 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

SOME    ILWSTRIOrS    PRELATES. 

OCCASION  Brings  Forth  the  Man.— Raised  for  a  Holy  Calling.— Eloquence  In  the 
Pulpit.— Mistake  of  a  Cardinal.— Turbulent  Times  In  New  York.— Fighting  the 
Trustee  System.— Burning  Question  of  Education.— Abuse,  Bigotry  and  Riot- 
ing.—The  Bishop  and  the  Know-Nothing  Mayor.— Scoring  the  Editors.— New 
York's  Stately  Cathedral.— Some  Other  Famous  Prelates.— First  American 
Cardinal 722 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

IN    THE    PIRIT.\NS'    DOMAI.N. 

CATHOLICS  Alone  Unwelcome.— Persecution  and  Prisons.— Penalty  of  Praying  In 
Irish.— Conversion  and  Work  of  Father  Thayer.— Better  Feeling  Grows.— In- 
fluence of  French  Alliance— Noble  Father  Cheverus.— Cathedral  Raised  by 
Poverty.- Tom  Paine  and  His  Closing  Hours— A  Succession  of  Worthy  Prel- 
ates.—New   England   Almost   Catholic— Boston    Past   and    Present 752 

CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

BRILLIANT   BISHOP   ENGLAND. 

OSTRACISM  of  Catholics  in  the  South.— Father  O'Callag'ier's  Mission.— A  Bishop 
for  the  Palmetto  State— Career  of  a  Young  Corkonian.— Blossoms  as  a  Priest 
and  Editor.- Too  Much  Boldness  of  Speech.— Promoted  for  the  American 
Mission.- A  Scant  and  Scattered  Flock.— The  Bishop  Among  Cherokees  and 
Protestants.- His   Wit,    Work.    Learning   and    Success.— Other   Prelates 776 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

CAREER    OF    C-4RDIN.4L    GIBBONS. 

TARDY  Results  In  Carolina.— Creation  of  a  Vicar  Apostolic— Birth  In  Maryland.— 
Education  In  Ireland.— Successes  as  a  Student —Shining  Light  in  Priesthood.— 
Work  as  a  Young  Prelate  — Brilliant  Addresses  and  Publications,— Favorable 
Impression  Among  Non-Catholics.— Called  to  the  Primacy.— A  Mother's  Joy. 
—Receives  the  Red    Hat.— A   Fruitful   and   Illustrious   Life 79S 

CHAPTER  XL. 

ALONG  THE   OHIO   VALLEY. 

CREATION  of  Bardstown  Diocese,- First  Friends  from  Maryland.— Failure  of 
Father  W  helan,— Early  Days  of  Father  Badin.— Glimpse  of  "the  French  Revo- 
lution.—On  the  Mission  In  Kentucky.— Journeys  In  the  Wilderness.— Church 
In  a  Shanty— Appointment  of  Bishop  Flaget.— Death  of  the  Protopriest,— Good 
Father  Nerlnckx.-Humble  Episcopal  Quarters,- Cincinnati  Receives  a  Bishop. 
— Fenwick,   Pureell  and   Elder 809 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER    XLI. 

THE  india:>ja  field. 

VINCENNES  as  a  Military  Post.— Kather  Gibault  an  Early  Laborer.— In  the  Baras- 
town  Jurisdiction. —Bishop  Briitf-  First  Shcpheril.— Life  of  a  Saintly  French- 
man —Good  Slock  and  Kindly  Growth.- At  Mt.  St.  Marys— Mother  Seton's 
Director.— The  Bishop  Paid  in  Corn.— Charity  and  Toil  to  the  End.- Notre 
Dame  and  St.   Mary's.— Later  Bishops.- Division  of  the  Diocese 82g 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

IN   THE    WKSTEKN    METROPOLIS. 

FATHER  Marquette  on  the  Site  of  Chicago.— Arrival  of  First  Settlers— Work 
of  Father  St.  Cyr.— Visit  from  Bishop  Brute.— Creation  of  the  See.— Biography 
of  First  Bishop.— Pious  Mother  and  Holy  Youth.— Mt.  St.  Mary's  and  the 
Priesthood.— Plague  and  Conllagration.— Good  Works  and  Death.— Succeeding 
Bishops.— Chicago  a  Metropolitan  See.— The  First  ArchbLshop. — City  of  the 
Catholic  Congress 845 

CHAPTER   XLIIL 

IX    THE    GRE.\T   NORTHWEST. 

ANCIENT  Fort  at  Detroit.— First  Church  Laid  In  Ashes.— First  Pastor  Slain —Priest 
Who  Became  Congressman.— First  Printer  In  the  West.— A  Convert  Who  Fell 
Away —Bishop  Caspar  Borgess.— Copper  Mines  Bring  a  Rush —Missions  on 
the  Upper  Peninsula.— Baraga  the  Saintly.— Growth  of  See  and  Later   Bishops...  876 

CIL\PTER   XLIV. 

THE    FAR   Vl^ESTERN    PLAINS. 

INDIAN  Reservations  and  Agencies —Catholic  Tribes  Suffer.- Spoliation  of  Lands. 
—The  Development  of  Kansas.— Rapid  Rise  of  Religious  Interest.— Creation  of 
Three  Dioceses —A  Nebraska  College  Foundation— At  the  Foot  of  the  Rockies. 
—Bishop  Machebceuf  of  Denver.— Zealous  Bishop  Marty S'l 

CHAPTER    XLV. 

ON    THE    P.\CIFIC    SLOPE. 

EARLY  Days— A  Rival  of  the  Gold  Seekers.— Gold  the  Only  Worship —San  Fran- 
cisco's First  Church.— Hard  Work  for  the  Clergy.— Institutions  Gradually  Es- 
tablished—Work Among  the  Miners.— Zeal  of  Archbishop  AUemany.— In  Oregon 
and  Washington  States.— Zealous  Father  Blanchet.— Later  Prelates  and   Events..  908 

CHAPTER   XLVI. 

IN   THE   DOMINION    OP  CANADA. 

TREATIES  Despised  by  Britons —Plunder  of  the  Jesuits.— Toleration  That  Never 
Came —In  the  War  of  Independence —Catholic  Bishops  Prohibited— Persistent 
Growth  of  Church  Interests.— The  Loyal  French  Canadians.- A  Scotch  Catholic 
Colony.— Many  Trials  and  Wanderings.— A  Bishop  of  the  MacDonalds  — Late 
Days   In  the   Dominion '^ 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 

THE    F.tlTH    IN    MEXICO. 

CONVERSION  of  the  Whole  Race —Missionaries  and  Conquerors  Side  by  Side.— 
Franciscan  and  Dominican  Workers.— Sufferings  of  the  Aztecs.— Zeal  of  the 
Missionaries— Brother  Peter's  Humility.- Las  Casas  and  the  Natives —Crimes 
of    the    Conquerors.- Mexico's    First    Archbishop.— A    Loyal    Catholic    People.— 


Recent  Days. 


»46 


CHAPTER   XLVIII. 

HOW   C.VTHOLU'S    STOOD    IN    THE  WAR. 

CHURCH   of  God   Was   Never  Partisan —Religion   and   Charity. -Service  of   the  Sick 
and    Wounded.— The    Sisters    and    Their    Holv    Work.— Converting    Hatred    Into 
i;steem    and    Love  —Making   Converts   by    KIndness.-Absolution    on    the    Bai'Je 
Field —Heroism    of    Catholic     Soldiers.- Irish     Bravery     at      All      Points.— Bold 
Deeds    and    Shining    Examples 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

TRirMPH    AND    PROMISE. 

SERIES  Of  Happy  Events.— The  Congress  at  Baltimore-Pomp  In  the  Cathedral  — 
Review  of  One  Century.- Position  of  the  Lally.-A  Joyous  Procession-Great 
Catholic  ITnlver.slty.— A  Noble  Rector— World's  Fair  Triumphs —Another  Con- 
(jress  -A  Papal  Delegate  -Diplomacy  of  the  Holy  See. -Succession  of  Car- 
dinals   Satolll   and   Martinelll 


959 


978 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  L. 

LATE  DIOCKSAN   HAPPENINGS. 

OHANOES  in  the  Episcopacy.— WilmiDcton  niid  Savaiiiiali.— BurlinRton  and  Port- 
laiiil,  Xlf. — ("liiontio  and  PtHjria. — A  Calhodral's  Jubilee. — Columbus  and  Kt. 
Wayne. — l>ubuiiui''s  Loss  and  (Jain. — Historic  Maniuette. — New  Orleans  and 
Mobile. — .\rchbisliop  CorriKan's  Silver  Jubilee. — New  York  and  Newark. — 
On-gon  and  Nestjually. — iK'aths  of  Archbishops  Corrigan,  Feehan,  Kain,  Kat- 
«er.  KIder.  and  Cliapelle. — Growth  of  Catholic  Societies. — A  Glimpse  of  Alaska. 
— New  I'uslors  in   Various  Se«s   1195 

CHAPTER  LI. 

IN  OCR  ISLAND  DEPENDENCIES. 

FRUITS  of  Recent  War.— A  Senator's  Judgment.— The  Pearl  of  the  Antilles. — 
Catholic  from  Discovery  Times. — Churches  and  Clergy. — An  American  Papal 
Deleirate. — Projects  of  Wisdom. — Two  New  Prelates. — Story  of  the  Philip- 
pines.— The  Friars  and  Their  Work. — Conversion  of  Savage  Races. — The  Press 
Slanderers  Rebuked  by  Facts. — A  Future  of  Golden  Promise.—  Aglipay  De- 
cision     1011 


Cbaptett  I. 


The  Cro$$  Borne  to  Jlmcnica. 


HISTORY  AS  THB  Antidote  of  Bigotry. —A  Brave  and  Pious  SAitoR.— 
Strange  Vicissitudes  of  Life. — Discovery  on  thb  Brain.— A  Mendicant 
WITH  Great  Dreams.— Home  and  Hope  in  a  Convent.— Influence  of  a 
Queen's  Confessor.— Crown  Jewew  Offered  for  Pawn. — Preparing  a 
Great  Expedition.— Columbus  puts  out  to  Sea.  —  Blessings  on  the  Ven- 
turesome Mariners. 

IKE  the  fatal  poison  of  an  epidemic  the  spirit  of  religious  bigotry 
has  sometimes  been  manifest  in  this  American  Republic.  An 
insolent  secret  society,  for  example,  by  means  of  calumny  and 
treachery,  seeks  to  excite  hatred  against  the  Catholic  Church  and 
to  defraud  her  loyal  children  of  their  social  and  civic  rights.  It  is 
chiefly  among  the  ignorant  that  such  a  foul  propaganda  can  hope 
to  succeed,  and  therefore  it  behooves  all  Catholics,  for  defense  as  well  as 
instruction,  to  know  and  be  able  to  state  the  relations  of  Catholicity  to  the 
whole  American  continent.  The  facts  of  history  we  present  should  fill  the 
Catholic  heart  with  joy  and  pride.  To  the  Church  of  our  love  and  allegiance 
America  owes  her  discovery,  her  exploration,  her  civilization,  and,  in  a  great 
measure,  the  civil  liberty,  development,  safety  and  glory  of  the  United  States. 
Instead  of  prejudice  or  aversion  Catholicity  is  thus  entitled  to  the  gratitude 
and  utmost  reverence  of  this  people;  and  Catholics  themselves  should  feel 
that  they  are  at  home  in  a  nation  which  they  have  helped  to  create  and  pre- 
serve by  their  genius,  toils  and  blood.  It  is  a  fascinating  history  which  was 
begun  by  a  Catholic  sailor  of  the  fifteenth  century, 

9 


lO  TRIALS  AXD   TRIUMPHS  Of  THE 

It  is  not  easy  to  cast  back  the  imagination  four  centuries.  How  shall 
we  conceive  what  Europe  was  before  Martin  Luther?  or  how  can  we  well 
imagine  tlie  condition  of  America  before  Columbus?  The  huge  continent 
on  this  side  was  an  almost  unbroken  forest,  save  where  the  wide  prairie 
rolled  its  billows  of  grass  towards  the  western  mountains,  or  was  lost  in 
the  sterile  and  sandy  plains  of  the  southwest.  No  city  raised  to  heaven 
spire,  dome,  or  minaret;  no  plow  turned  up  the  rich  alluvial  soil;  no  metal 
dug  from  the  bowels  of  tlie  earth  had  been  fashioned  into  instruments  to 
aid  man  in  the  arts  of  peace  and  war.  The  simplest  requirements  of  civil- 
ized life  were  unknown.  The  country  was  chiefly  inhabited  by  tribes  of 
a  wandering  nature,  rarely  collected  in  villages  except  at  particular  seasons 
or  for  specific  objects.  Around  each  isolated  tribe  lay  an  unbroken  wilder- 
ness, extending  for  miles  on  every  side,  where  the  braves  roamed  and 
rioted,  hunters  alike  of  beasts  and  men.  In  form,  manners,  and  in  habits, 
these  tribes  presented  an  almost  uniform  appearance  and  language  alone 
could  distinguish  the  nation  to  which  each  belonged.  All  alike  were  sunk 
in  the  night  of  baibarism. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  other  side.  Behold  the  Europe  of  four  cen- 
turies since.  Printing  had  only  just  been  invented;  the  ocean  was  as  yet 
a  mystery;  Protestantism  had  not  yet  arisen;  the  Turks  had  but  lately 
taken  Constantinople;  the  men  of  trade,  enrolled  in  exclusive  guilds,  pursued 
the  arts  of  peace  in  the  intervals  of  war;  the  Italian  cities  were  the  centers  of 
that  traffic  which  had  not  yet  removed  its  outposts  into  Holhind  or  England; 
Commerce,  shivering  amidships  in  her  open  boat,  steered  from  cape  to  cape, 
dropping  her  anchor  in  the  evening  to  weigh  it  again  with  the  dawn;  walled 
and  battlemented  cities  stretched  along  the  seas  and  rivers,  swarming  with  a 
laborious  and  believing  generation.  Above  all  rose  Rome,  mother  and 
mistress  of  Christian  nations,  patron  of  every  science,  protector  of  every  art, 
preserver  of  every  relic  of  enlightened  antiquity. 

Such  were  the  Old  and  the  New  Worlds,  henceforth  to  be  linked  in 
destiny  by  the  glorious  achievement  of  a  Catholic  navigator,  whose  career 
accordingly  merits  to  be  noted  with  generous  detail. 

Christopher  Columbus  was  born  in  the  year  of  grace,  1436,  in 
the  proud  city  of  Genoa — Genoa  the  Magnificent.  This  beautiful  city  had 
sprung  from  the  sea,  derived  its  support  from  the  sea,  and  its  glory  was 
drawn  from  the  sea;  a  city  almost  cut  off  from  the  inland  and  from  its 
pursuits  by  a  chain  of  high  mountains  surrounding  it  in  the  rear,  whilst  its 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  II 

majestic  palaces,  temples,  fortifications  and  noble  streets  turned  incessantly 

towards  the  water,  and  looking  across  the  graceful  semi-circle  of  the  harbor, 

instinctively  schooled  its  gallant  men  and  agile  youth  to  look  ardently  and 

ambitiously  to  the  sea.     The  Genoese  were  essentially  and  from  necessity  a 

maritime  people. 

"Whose  re.idy  sails  with  every  wind  can  fly 
And  cov'nant  make  with  the  inconstant  sky; 
.    .     .     Who  tread  on  billows  with  a  steady  foot." 

The  ordinary  life  of  a  Genoese  was  commenced  from  early  youth  and 
spent  on  the  water.  It  was  a  daily  school  for  fascinating  danger  and  bold 
adventure.  Particularly  was  tiiis  the  case  at  the  time  of  the  birth  and  boy- 
hood of  Columbus.  It  was  a  period  when  the  battles  of  Christian  Europe 
against  the  Turks  and  Mussulmen,  when  struggles  of  merchantmen  on  the 
high  seas  with  outlaws  and  corsairs,  when  incessant  brawls  and  contests  with 
the  Mediterranien  pirates,  fired  the  hearts  and  aroused  the  ambition  of  every 
spirited  and  generous  Genoese  youth.  Thus  all  united  to  inspire  the  mind 
and  heart  of  Columbus  with  a  love  of  the  water  from  his  youth.  And  the 
generous  boy  was  equal  to  his  opportunities — for  he  was  a  precocious  sailor 
and  made  his  first  voyage  to  sea  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 

But  there  was  another  training,  deeper  and  more  beneficent,  which 
Columbus  received  during  the  first  fourteen  years  of  his  life.  After  bestow- 
ing on  him  some  elementary  instruction  his  wise  and  Christian  father, 
Domenico,  sent  him  at  the  age  of  ten  to  the  university  of  Pavia.  At  this 
gentle  age  he  studied  the  elements  of  mathematics,  physics,  astronomy,  Latin 
and  mental  and  moral  philosophy,  for  such  were  the  studies  for  which  this 
noted  school  was  famous.  Here  it  was  also  that  he  received  the  Sacraments 
of  Confirmation,  which  made  him  through  life  a  soldier  of  the  Cross,  and  of 
the  Holy  Eucharist,  by  which  he  became  in  fact,  as  in  name,  the  Bearer  of 
Christ — this  being  the  signification  of  his  baptismal  name,  Christopher. 

The  seafaring  life  of  Columbus,  from  his  fourteenth  year  to  the  year 
1470,  when  he  arrived  in  Portugal  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  is  involved  in 
much  regrettable  obscurity.  We  know,  however,  that  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four  he  had  reached  the  rank  of  a  captain,  and  commanded  a  ship  in  the 
service  of  Jean  of  Anjou,  who  was  struggling  to  assert  his  sovereignty  over 
the  Kingdom  of  Naples,  Columbus  having  been  certainly  an  active  participant 
in  this  war.  It  was  at  a  later  period  and  during  a  fierce  naval  encounter  off 
Cape  St.  Vincent,  that  an  event  occurred  which  gave  a  new  direction  to  his 
life.     On  this  occasion  the  ship  commanded  by  Columbus  took  fire  and  wa» 


12  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

soon  enveloped  in  flames.  The  sea  alone  offered  a  place  of  safety,  and 
tlie  future  discoverer  of  America,  seizing  an  oar,  boldly  struck  out  for 
land,  some  six  miles  away.  He  reached  the  shore,  after  a  desperate  struggle, 
and  piously  thanked  Heaven  for  his  fortunate  escape.  Finding  himself  now 
penniless  on  a  strange  coast,  which  he  learned  to  be  that  of  Portugal,  he 
directed  his  steps  to  Lisbon,  the  capital  of  the  country.  Here  he  was  so 
happy  as  to  meet  his  brother  Bartholomew,  who  was  likewise  a  brave  and 
adventurous  mariner.  The  Portugese  capital  was  then  the  center  of  all  that 
was  eminent  in  commerce  and  navigation.  Columbus  found  a  home  under 
the  hospitable  roof  of  his  enterprising  brother,  and  supported  himself  by 
drawing  maps  and  charts.  Nor  did  he  ever  forget  his  aged  parents,  to  whom, 
from  time  to  time,  he  remitted  sums  of  money.  Filial  love  was  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  traits  in  his  exalted  character. 

While  at  Lisbon,  a  romantic  attachment,  that  ended  in  marriage,  took 
place  between  Columbus  and  a  noble  young  lady,  Doiia  Felipa  de  Perestrello. 
Her  only  riches  were  her  virtue,  beauty  and  accomplishments.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  an  eminent  navigator  who  died  Governor  of  Porto  Santo,  but 
who,  by  an  unhappy  reverse  of  fortune,  was  compelled  to  leave  his  family 
with  little  but  the  memory  of  an  honored  name. 

This  alliance  of  Columbus  with  a  family  of  eminence,  however,  proved 
serviceable  to  him  in  more  ways  than  one.  It  introduced  him  to  the  greatest 
men  of  the  court,  and  the  most  noted  scholars  of  the  country.  Besides,  his 
ardent  spirit  of  discovery  received  a  fresh  impulse  in  the  notes  and  journals 
of  his  deceased  father-in-law.  He  engaged  in  many  voyages,  carefully 
noting  everything  new  or  valuable.  His  studies,  his  researches,  his  experi- 
ments, all  tended  towards  one  object — the  grand  project  of  penetrating  the 
great  ocean  which  stretched  away  towards  the  west. 

By  degrees  he  became  convinced  of  the  true  shape  of  the  earth;  and  his 
piercing  intellect  grasped  the  great  problem  of  reaching  other  continents  by 
a  direct  course  across  the  Atlantic,  on  whose  wide  expanse  no  mariner  dared 
to  venture.  Its  vast  and  deep  waters  were  regarded  with  mysterious  awe, 
seeming  to  bound  the  world  as  with  a  chaos,  into  which  conjecture  could  not 
penetrate,  and  where  enterprise  feared  to  meet  ruin  or  misfortune. 

Columbus  was  poor  in  the  goods  of  this  world.  To  aid  him  in  carrying 
out  such  a  vast  and  brilliant  design,  the  assistance  of  a  rich  patron  was  essen- 
tial. But  alas,  for  manly  worth  and  genius,  long  years  were  spent  in  fruitless 
efforts  to  obtain  even  a  hearing.     Nothing,  however,  could  daunt  the  energy 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  13 

of  this  incomparable  man.     He   was   a   firm   believer  in  the  divinity  of  his 

mission.     He  was  convinced  that  the  time  had  arrived  to  accomplish  it.     For 

"  There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men, 

Which  taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune." 

The  long  and  painful  preparatory  efforts  of  Columbus  to  interest  Europe 
in  his  enterprise  would,  at  this  day,  seem  almost  incredible.  He  besought 
Genoa  and  Venice  for  a  ship  or  two  to  find  his  world,  and  they  refused  him. 
The  Portugese  tried  to  steal  his  plan,  and  carry  it  out  themselves,  but  Provi- 
dence had  graciously  decreed  that  America  should  not  be  discovered  by  thieves. 

At  the  period  of  his  sojourn  in  Lisbon,  Columbus  was  in  the  very  prime 
of  life  and  was  a  noble  type  of  manhood.  He  is  described  as  of  a  tall  stature, 
powerfully  built  and  admirably  proportioned,  and  was  graceful,  dignified  and 
noble  in  his  carriage  and  bearing.  In  his  diet  he  was  frugal,  and  in  his  dress 
plain,  though  exceedingly  neat.  While  his  manner  was  affable  in  conversa- 
tion with  strangers,  and  mild  with  servants,  he  was  naturally  grave.  But  it 
was  his  religious  character  and  practices  that  most  of  all  challenge  praise. 
He  spent  much  time  in  prayer,  observed  the  most  rigid  fasts,  attended  the 
Holy  Mass  every  day,  and  recited  daily  the  whole  canonical  office  of  a 
religious.  He  was  a  devout  client  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  JSIary  and  a  great 
admirer  and  imitator  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisium.  That  a  man  should  have 
thus  preserved  his  purity  of  sentiment  and  so  pious  and  religious  a  character 
through  twenty  years  of  a  seafaring  life,  amid  scenes  of  adventure,  turbu- 
lence and  danger,  is  the  strongest  proof  that  Columbus  was  a  representative 
of  the  Most  High  and  a  chosen  missionary  and  embassador  of  the  faith.  The 
death  of  his  wife  dissolved  the  last  tie  that  bound  Columbus  to  Portugal. 
Taking  his  little  son,  James,  by  the  hand,  he  shook  the  very  dust  from  his 
feet,  and  turned  his  back  upon  a  country  which  had  treated  him  with  such 
meanness  and  little  faith.     This  was  at  the  close  of  the  year  14S4. 

It  was  in  the  following  year  that  he  arrived  in  Spain.  Here  he  is  first 
heard  of  as  a  wanderer  asking  for  a  little  bread  at  the  gate  of  the 
Franciscan  convent  of  La  Rabida,  close  to  the  small  sea-port  town  of  Palos, 
in  Andalusia.  He  had  his  dear  little  boy  with  him,  and  was  on  his  way  to 
Huelva  to  see  a  sister-in-law,  with  whom,  in  spite  of  her  poverty,  he  no 
doubt  wished  to  leave  the  child. 

Father  John  Perez,  the  Guardian  of  the  convent,  found  his  friend,  Dr. 
Garcia  Hernandez,  the  physician  of  the  house,  in  conversation  with  the 
stranger  on  the  porch.     Some  good  angel  had  certainly  guided  Columbus  to 


M 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 


La  Rabida,  for  Father  Perez  was  no  ordinary  man.  There  was  scarcely 
anotlier  in  Spain  so  well  prepared  by  nature  and  study  to  appreciate  tlic  great 
thoughts  of  that  singular  mendicant. 

Father  Perez  had  been  the  confessor  of  Queen  Isabella,  but  a  court  life 
was  less  to  his  liking  than  retirement  and  study.  He  was  a  religious  of  deep 
piety,  well  versed  in  profane  as  well  as  sacred  science,  the  sound  of  feasting 
and  bustle  of  the  city  were  ill  suited  to  his  disposition  and  his  love  of  study 
and  prayer,  and,  therefore,  quitting  the  court,  and  despising  the  prospect  of 
future  honor  and  greatness,  he  returned  to  his  humble  duties  as  guardian  of 
the  little  monastry  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Rabida.  His  love  for  mathematics 
and  cosmography  was  only  the  handmaid  of  his  zeal  for  souls.  He  longed 
for  the  discovery  of  new  lands,  in  order  that  Christ  might  be  preached  to 
more  men,  and  the  place  of  his  abode  was  admirably  suited  to  feed  his  imagi- 
nation and  his  Christian  hopes.  He  had  built  a  kind  of  observatory  on  the 
roof  of  his  monastery,  and  he  spent  much  of  his  spare  time  in  contemplating 
the  stars  by  night  and  the  sea  by  day.  Did  that  wide  and  gloomy  ocean  really 
bound  the  world,  or  had  it  a  farther  shore  with  races  of  men  to  be  evange- 
lized? There  was  infinite  room  for  speculation  where  all  was  conjecture. 
Some  cosmographers  thought  that  it  could  be  sailed  across  in  three  years, 
and  some  thought  it  was  of  indefinite  extent.  Father  Perez  had  reached  the 
advanced  stage  of  venturing  to  believe  that  a  voyage  across  was  practicable, 
V.  hen  Columbus  appeared  at  his  convent  gate,  and  soon  the  doubt  of  an  alleged 
impossibility  gave  place  to  the  ardent  desire  of  an  actual  accomplishment. 
From  the  first  Father  Perez  was  a  good  friend.  He  made  Columbus  live  at 
his  convent  till  a  favorable  opportunity  should  present  itself  for  laying  his  plans 
before  the  Spanish  monarchs,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

The  good  Franciscan  had  an  influential  friend  at  court,  Father  Ferdinand 
de  Talavera,  confessor  to  the  King  and  Queen,  a  priest  of  learning  and  virtue; 
and  he  felt  that  in  recommending  Columbus  to  the  intercession  of  such  a  man, 
he  was  almost  ensuring  the  successful  issue  of  his  application.  But  Father 
Talavera  had  no  mind  to  assist  a  project  which  he  deemed  a  delusion.  He 
listened  with  perfect  politeness  to  the  explanations  of  Columbus,  but  he  did 
not  intend  at  that  time,  more  particularly,  when  the  attention  of  the  sover- 
eigns was  concentrated  on  the  Moorish  war,  to  allow  any  idle  dreams  to 
molest  their  ears.  Columbus  was  helpless,  and  had  to  fall  back  upon  calig- 
raphy  and  map-making  for  his  support.  This  was  at  Cordova,  where  the 
sovereigns,  always  in  movement,  then  happened  to  be. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  1 5 

It  was  (luring  this  painful  suspense  that  Columbus  married  a  young  lady 
of  rank,  Dona  Beatrix  Enriquez,  who  became  tiie  mother  of  his  second  son, 
and  future  biographer,  Don  Fernando. 

His   marriage  did   not  change   his  plans.     When  he  found  that  Father 
Talavera  was  a   hindrance,  not  a   help,  he   wrote  with   his  own   hand   this 
characteristic  letter  to  King  Ferdinand: 
"Most  Serene  Pkince: 

I  have  been  engaged  in  navigation  from  my  youth.  For  nearly  forty 
years  have  I  voyaged  on  the  seas.  I  have  visited  nearly  all  the  known 
quarters  of  the  world,  and  have  conversed  with  a  great  number  of  learned 
men — with  ecclesiastics,  seculars,  Latins,  Greeks,  and  persons  of  all  kinds  of 
religion.  I  have  acquired  some  knowledge  of  navigation,  astronomy  and 
geometry,  and  am  sufficiently  expert  in  designing  the  chart  of  the  earth  to 
place  the  cities,  rivers  and  mountains  in  their  correct  situations.  To  the  study 
of  works  on  cosmography,  history  and  philosophy  I  have  also  applied  myself. 
At  present  I  feel  strongly  urged  to  undertake  the  discovery  of  the  Indies, 
and  I  come  to  your  Highness  to  supplicate  you  to  favor  my  enterprise.  That 
those  who  hear  it  will  turn  it  into  ridicule  I  doubt  not,  but  if  your  Highness 
will  give  me  the  means  of  executing  it,  let  the  obstacles  be  what  they  may, 
I  hope  to  be  able  to  make  it  succeed." 

Of  this  letter  no  notice  was  taken.  He  succeeded,  however,  in  making 
the  acquaintance  of  Antonio  Geraldini,  formerly  Papal  Nuncio,  who  at  the 
Queen's  request  had  returned  to  Spain  to  be  tutor  to  her  eldest  daughter,  and 
was  by  him  introduced  to  the  great  Cardinal  Mendoza,  Grand  Chancellor  of 
Castile. 

The  keen  eye  of  Mendoza  recognized  at  once  the  extraordinary  merit  of 
Columbus,  and  he  felt  it  a  duty  to  obtain  for  him  an  audience. 

Notwithstanding  the  poorrtess  of  his  dress  and  his  foreign  accent, 
Columbus  appeared  before  the  sovereigns  of  Spain  without  hesitation  or 
awkwardness.  The  native  dignity  of  his  air  and  the  grace  of  his  deport- 
ment, together  with  the  noble  familiarity  of  his  language,  won  their  attention. 
He  spoke  with  the  confidence  of  one  who  brings  his  masters  more  than  they 
can  give  him  in  return.  "  In  thinking  what  I  was,"  he  wrote  at  a  later 
period,  "I  was  overwhelmed  with  humility;  but  in  remembering  what  I 
brought,  I  found  myself  equal  to  crowned  heads.  I  was  no  longer  myself,  but 
the  instrument  of  God,  chosen  and  marked  out  to  accomplish  a  vast  design." 
But  nothing  very  satisfactory  was  done.  King  Ferdinand,  with  habitual 
caution,  directed  Talavera  to  call  together  a  council,  or  Junta,  of  scientitic 
men,  to  consider  the  case.     Before  the  council  dispersed  the  court  had  left 


I6  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Salamanca,  where  this  measure  of  progress  was  attained.  For  Columbus  it 
was  an  unpropitious  time.  The  Junta  had  proved  unfriendly.  Far  from 
dreaming  of  the  conquest  of  regions  beyond  unknown  seas,  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  were  engrossed  in  recovering  their  own  dominions  from  the  Moors. 
These  victorious  Mussulmen,  after  a  long  and  prosperous  possession,  beheld 
themselves  stripped,  one  by  one,  of  the  towns  and  provinces  they  had  held  as 
their  own.  In  spite  of  their  exploits  they  were  everywhere  defeated,  and  were 
now  compelled  to  occupy  the  mountains  and  valleys  around  Granada,  the 
capital  and  wonder  of  their  empire.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  employed  all 
their  powers,  all  their  efforts,  and  the  resources  of  their  united  kingdoms  to 
wrest  from  the  Moors  this  citadel  of  Spain. 

United  by  a  marriage  of  policy  which  love  had  sealed,  and  which  was 
radiant  with  a  common  glory,  the  one  had  brought  the  kingdom  of  Aragon, 
the  other  that  of  Castile,  as  a  marriage  portion  to  this  union  of  crowns.  But 
although  the  king  and  queen  had  blended  tlieir  separate  provinces  into  one 
country,  they  yet  preserved  a  distinct  and  independent  dominion  over  their 
hereditary  kingdoms.  They  had  each  a  council  and  ministers  for  the  sepa- 
rate interests  of  their  personal  subjects.  These  councils  were  only  united  in 
one  common  government  when  patriotic  interests  common  to  the  two  king- 
doms and  the  two  sovereigns  were  at  stake. 

Ferdinand,  a  little  older  than  Isabella,  was  an  able  politician  and  an 
accomplished  soldier.  Before  that  age  when  by  experience  man  learns  to 
know  men,  he  had  already  divined  them.  His  greatest  fault  was  a  certain 
coldness  which  sprang  from  mistrust,  and  which  closed  his  heart  to  enthu- 
siasm and  magnanimity. 

His  royal  companion,  however,  more  truly  deserves  attention  and  ad- 
miration. Of  all  the  illustrious  women  of  history,  Isabella  alone  is  honored 
with  the  beautiful  title  of  The  Catholic,  in  consideration  of  her  greatness  and 
Ulustrious  piety.     In  the  annals  of  the  past,  hers  is  one  of  the  brightest  names. 

In  person  she  was  of  the  middle  height,  and  well  proportioned.  She 
had  a  clear,  fresh  complexion,  with  light  blue  eyes  and  auburn  hair — a  style 
of  beauty  exceedingly  rare  in  Spain.  Her  features  were  regular  and  uncom- 
monly beautiful.  Her  manners  were  most  gracious  and  pleasing.  They 
were  marked  by  natural  dignity  and  modest  reserve,  tempered  by  an  affabil- 
ity which  flowed  from  the  kindness  of  her  disposition.  She  showed  great 
tact  in  accommodating  herself  to  the  peculiar  situation  and  character  of  those 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  17 

around  her.     She  appeared  in  arms  at  the   head   of   her   troops,  and  did   not 
even  shrink  from  the  hardships  of  war. 

But  the  principle  which  gave  a  peculiar  coloring  to  every  feature  of 
Isabella's  mind,  was  piety.  It  shone  forth  from  the  very  depths  of  her  soul 
with  a  heavenly  radiance,  which  illuminated  her  whole  character.  Fortu- 
nately her  earliest  years  had  been  passed  under  the  eye  of  a  mother,  who 
implanted  in  her  serious  mind  such  strong  principles  of  religion  as  nothing  in 
after  life  had  power  to  shake.  In  the  flower  of  youth  and  beauty  she  had 
been  introduced  to  her  brother's  court;  but  its  blandishments,  so  dazzling  to 
a  young  imagination,  had  no  power  over  hers,  for  she  was  surrounded  by  a 
moral  atmosphere  of  purity, 

"Driving  far  off  eacii  thing  of  sin  and  guilt." 

But  to  come  back  to  Columbus.  He  was,  by  this  time,  well  inured  to 
delay,  scoffs  and  ridicule;  but  the  delay  now  seemed  likely  to  be  intermina- 
ble. The  end  of  the  war  was  an  event  of  the  uncertain  future,  and  he  felt 
that  his  time  was  growing,  with  every  wasted  year,  more  and  more  precious. 
He  made  up  his  mind  to  go  at  once  to  the  King  of  France,  who  had  written 
an  encouraging  letter.  But  he  went  first  to  La  Rabida  to  take  James  from 
the  care  of  Father  Perez.  We  may  imagine  the  grief  of  the  good  Franciscan 
to  see  his  friend,  after  so  many  years  of  patient  hope,  return  with  his  prayer 
unheard.  He  called  in  the  learned  village  doctor,  Garcia  Hernandez,  and 
they  again  put  Columbus  steadily  through  his  proofs,  with  the  objections  to 
them  and  solutions,  like  another  Junta  of  Salamanca.  The  monk  and  the 
physician  were  both  completely  convinced.  Father  Perez  felt  that  it  was 
time  for  prompt  action.  As  the  former  confessor  of  the  queen,  he  felt  that 
he  could  speak  and  be  listened  to,  and  so  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Isabella;  but 
he  was  determined  that  it  should  be  placed  without  delay  in  her  royal  hands, 
and  they  sent  it  accordingly  by  a  trusty  envoy.  The  letter  found  the  queen 
at  Santa  Yi. 

In  a  fortnight  the  envoy  returned  with  an  invitation  to  the  Franciscan 
father  and  a  message  of  encouragement  to  Columbus.  The  poor  monk  had 
no  mule  of  his  own  to  saddle,  so  Columbus  had  to  borrow  one  for  him.  He 
obtained  the  ear  of  the  queen,  and  his  pleading  was  irresistible.  Columbus 
was  summoned  to  court  anew,  but  now  fate  was  hanging  over  the  famous 
city  of  Granada,  and  all  things  human  might  wait  a  few  days  to  watch  the 
death  agony  of  a  war  that  had  lasted  for  eight  hundred  years.  He  arrived 
just  in  time  to  witness  the  memorable  surrender  of  that  capital  to  the  Spanish 


I8  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

arms.  On  January  2,  1492,  he  beheld  BoabdiI,the  last  of  the  Moorish  kings, 
sally  forth  from  Alhambra  aiul  yield  up  the  keys  of  that  favorite  seat  of 
Moslem  power,  while  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  with  all  the  chivalry  and 
jjiagnificence  of  Spain,  moved  forward  in  proud  and  solemn  procession  to 
receive  this  token  of  submission.  The  air  resounded  with  shouts  of  joy, 
songs  of  triumph  and  hymns  of  thanksgiving. 

In  the  midst  of  the  rejoicings,  Isabella  kept  her  promise  and  sent  for 
Columbus.  She  had  full  faith  in  him.  She  accepted  his  project,  but  the 
terms  had  to  be  agreed  upon,  and  it  so  happened  that  Father  Talavera,  now 
Bishop  of  Avila,  was  appointed  to  arrange  them.  To  Talavera's  mind  the 
price  was  too  high  to  pay.  "A  beggar,"  said  he,  "  made  conditions  like  a 
king  to  monarchs."  The  queen,  against  her  better  judgment,  was  even  per- 
suaded to  tell  Columbus  that  his  demands  were  too  large,  and  he  took  his 
departure.     Spain  would  not  pay  the  price,  and  the  price  could  not  be  altered! 

Columbus  now  mounted  his  mule  and  rode  from  Santa  Fe  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Cordova,  fully  convinced,  at  last,  that  eighteen  good  years  of  life  had 
been  spent  to  no  purpose.  The  demands  which  the  Bishop  of  Avila  could 
not  brook  depended  upon  the  success  of  a  design  which,  if  it  were  ever  real- 
ized, would  make  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  the  debtors  of  their  long-suffering 
petitioner  beyond  all  their  power  to  pay  him  back.  A  vice-royalty  to  him 
and  his  heirs  in  the  event  of  great  discoveries,  would  not  be  deemed  an  exces- 
sive recompense,  and  in  the  event  of  slight  success  or  failure  would  not  press 
heavily  upon  the  donors. 

If  he  was  human,  Columbus  must  have  included  in  one  sweeping  con- 
demnation court  and  courtiers,  learned  men  and  selfish  politicians;  and  even 
Isabella  could  scarcely  hope  to  escape  censure.  A  man  of  his  deep,  earnest 
temperament  would  need  all  his  Christian  philosophy  to  bear  up  against  such 
a  disappointment.  But  he  never  lost  faith  in  his  cause,  for  he  felt  that  the 
cause  was  God's,  in  whose  hands  are  the  hearts  of  rulers  and  the  destinies  of 
nations. 

Fortunately  for  Isabella,  the  Bishop  of  Avila  was  not  the  only  counsel- 
lor at  hand.  Luis  de  St.  Angel,  receiver  of  ecclesiastical  revenues,  and 
Alonzo  de  Quintanilla,  comptroller-general  of  finance,  at  whose  house  Colum- 
bus had  been  staying,  were  full  of  grief.  St.  Angel  rushed  into  the  presence 
of  the  queen,  and  in  the  fervor  of  his  zeal  for  Christendom  and  Spain  he 
even  reproached  her  for  the  unworthy  part  she  was  playing  under  wrong- 
ful   dictation.     Isabella   thanked    him    for  his  frankness.     Quintanilla    sup 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  I9 

ported  the  remonstrance.  Father  John  Perez  was  in  the  queen's  chapel  close 
by  on  his  knees  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  praying  with  all  his  heart  and 
soul  that  God,  for  the  five  sacred  wounds  of  Jesus,  would  vouchsafe  to  guide 
her  decision. 

Her  eyes  were  opened.  The  thought  of  the  vast  interests  at  stake  darted 
into  her  mind  with  the  force  of  an  inspiration,  and  her  resolve  was  formed. 
No  power  on  earth  could  change  it  then,  not  even  her  husband's  unwilling- 
ness to  move  in  the  matter;  for  she  was  a  sovereign  in  her  own  right,  and  as 
such,  and  for  her  own  crown  of  Castile,  she  undertook  the  enterprise,  and  as 
the  war  had  drained  the  royal  coffers  of  Castile,  she  was  ready  to  pledge  her 
jewels  to  raise  the  funds  required.  "  I  undertake  it,"  exclaimed  this  noble 
and  generous  lady,  "for  my  own  crown  of  Castile,  and  I  will  pledge  my 
jewels  to  raise  the  necessary  funds!"  This  was  the  brightest  moment  in  the 
life  of  Isabella.  It  stamped  her  renown  forever  as  the  patroness  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  New  World. 

The  money,  however,  was  a  minor  consideration  at  that  stage  of  the 
proceedings.  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  agreed  to  lend  to  Isabella  of  Castile  the 
sum  required,  and  in  due  time  was  careful  to  exact  repayment.  An  officer 
was  sent  in  haste  to  overtake  Columbus.  When  he  came  up  with  him  at  the 
bridge  of  Finos,  two  leagues  from  Granada,  his  first  summons  failed  to 
induce  the  fugitive  to  retrace  his  steps;  but  as  soon  as  Columbus  heard  of 
Isabella's  noble  declaration,  he  turned  his  mule,  and  hastened  back  to  Santa 
F6.     And  well  he  might. 

His  cause  was  now  completely  won.  He  was  high  in  favor.  Indeed, 
the  queen  gave  him  so  warm  a  welcome  that  it  was  evident  she  wished  to 
make  amends  for  all  past  neglect.  No  more  time  was  taken  up  in  haggling 
about  terms.  All  that  had  been  asked  for  was  conceded  without  a  word,  and 
Isabella,  with  delicate  thoughtfulness,  gracefully  added  to  the  more  formal 
grant  a  personal  favor  which  must  have  been  particularly  grateful  to  a  sensi- 
tive and  wounded  spirit,  appointing  Don  James,  Columbus'  eldest  son,  one  of 
the  pages  of  honor  to  Prince  John,  a  distinction  coveted  for  their  sons  by  the 
highest  grandees  of  Spain. 

The  terms  of  agreement  were,  with  all  convenient  dispatch  drawn  up  by 
the  queen's  secretary,  and  Ferdinand  affixed  his  signature  conjointly,  but  he 
took  no  further  interest  in  the  matter,  and  Isabella  singly  was  the  life  and 
soul  of  the  whole  enterprise.     It  was  to  the  following  effect: — 

The  favors  which  Christopher  Columbus  has  asked  from  the  King  and  Queen  of 


30 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Of  THE 


Spain,  In  recompense  of  the  discoveries  wliich  lie  has  made  in  the  ocean  seas,  and  as  a 
recompense  for  the  voyages,  which  he  is  about  to  undertake,  arc  the  following — 

1.  He  wishes  to  be  made  admiral  of  the  seas  and  countries  which  he  is  about  to 
discover.  He  desires  to  hold  the  dignity'  during  his  life,  and  that  it  should  descend  to 
his  heirs. 

This  request  is  granted  hy  the  King  and  Queen. 

2.  Christopher  Columbus  wishes  to  be  made  viceroy  of  alllhe  countries  and  islands. 
Granted  bv  the  King  and  Queen. 

3.  He  wishes  to  have  a  share,  amounting  to  a  tenth  part,  of  the  profits  of  all  mer- 
chandise— be  it  pearls,  jewels,  or  any  other  things — that  may  be  found,  gained,  bought 
or  exported  from  the  countries  which  he  is  to  discover. 

Granted  by  the  King  and  Queen. 

4.  He  wishes,  in  his  quality  of  admiral,  to  be  made  sole  judge  of  all  mercantile 
matters  that  may  be  the  occasion  of  dispute  in  the  countries  which  he  is  to  discover. 

Granted  bv  the  King  and  Queen,  on  the  condition,  however,  that  this  jurisdiction 
should  belong  to  the  office  of  admiral,  as  held  by  Don  Enriquez  and  other  admirals. 

5.  Christopher  Columbus  wishes  to  have  the  right  to  contribute  the  eighth  part 
jf  the  expenses  of  all  ships,  which  traffic  in  the  new  countries,  and  in  return  to  earn  the 
iighth  part  of  the  profits. 

Granted  by  the  King  and  Queen. 
Santa  Fk,  in  the  Vega  of  Granada,  April  17th,  1492. 

On  the  30th  of  the  same  month,  letters  patent  were  made  out  an<l  pub- 
lished in  the  form  required  by  the  customs  of  Spain,  conferring  on  Cohniibus, 
and  solemnly  confirming,  the  titles  and  privileges  granted  in  the  treaty,  de- 
claring the  office  of  viceroy  and  governor  hereditary  in  his  family,  and  be- 
stowing on  him  and  his  heirs  the  title  of  Don,  which  was  equivalent  to  ad- 
mission into  the  nobility  of  Spain. 

Isabella  without  delay,  now  issued  her  orders  for  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments. It  happened  that  the  little  seaport  of  Palos,  which  Columbus  knew  so 
well,  had  been  condemned  to  furnish  to  the  crown  one  year's  service  of  two 
caravels,  armed  and  manned.  Advantage  was  taken  of  this  existing  obliga- 
tion, and  the  caravels  were  now  required  to  be  in  readiness  in  ten  days,  and  to 
be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Columbus.  The  royal  mandate  was  read  to  the  na- 
tives of  Palos  in  the  Church  of  St.  George  by  the  notary  public  on  the  requisi- 
tion of  Columbus,  who  was  accompanied  as  a  matter  of  course,  by  the  Francis- 
can Guardian,  Father  Perez.  The  town  authorities  signified  their  submission; 
but  seamen  had  wills  of  their  own,  and  when  they  heard  the  nature  of  the  ser- 
vice for  which  they  were  ordered  to  prepare  they  showed  extreme  repugnance 
to  give  in  their  names.  Not  even  a  royal  order,  or  the  promise  of  immunity 
from  legal  prosecution  and  of  four  months'  pay  at  a  higher  rate  than  usual, 
to  be  made  in  advance  at  the  time  of  embarkation,  could  induce  men  to  offer 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  21 

themselves  for  so  mad  a  venture  as  a  voyage  due  west  into  the  vast  and 
gloomy  ocean.  They  valued  their  lives,  and  they  did  not  wish  to  he  sent  oft 
on  a  fool's  errand,  or  agree  to  make  up  a  forlorn  hope  for  anybody's  asking. 
Nor  were   these  timid  landsmen,  but  bold  and  hardy  sailors. 

It  is,  in  truth,  suggestive  to  think  that  the  little  port  of  Palos,  in 
Andalusia,  was  assigned  to  Columbus,  as  the  headquarters  of  organization 
for  the  expedition,  and  the  point  of  departure  for  his  squadron.  There  he 
first  found  a  true  friend  in  Spain.  The  idea  discussed  in  the  monastery  of 
La  Rabida,  near  Palos,  by  Father  John  Perez  and  Dr.  Garcia  Hernandez 
when  they  first  talked  with  Columbus,  was  thus  brought  home  to  them  once 
mure;  and  the  learned  Franciscan  himself  was  going  to  preside  over  all  the 
preparations,  and  see  from  his  own  hermitage,  the  first  sail  of  his  friend, 
spread  towards  that  unknown  world,  which  they  had  already  contemplated 
together  with  the  eye  of  faith  and  genius. 

In  spite  of  the  kindness  and  authority  of  Isabella,  many  unforeseen 
obstacles  threw  themselves  in  the  way  of  success. 

If  it  had  not  been  for  the  active  help  of  the  Father  Guardian  of  La 
Rabida,  Columbus  might  have  seen  his  cherished  project  fall  through  finally, 
not  for  want  of  letters  patent,  but  for  want  of  men.  A  Franciscan  by  his 
vocation  is  at  home  among  the  poor.  Father  Perez,  sometimes  with  and 
sometimes  without  his  friend,  made  his  rounds  among  the  townspeople  of 
Palos.  Both  his  position  and  his  personal  character  made  him  welcome  and 
gave  him  influence.  He  maintained  the  feasibility  of  the  voyage  and  made 
light  of  imaginary  terrors;  nor  did  he  fail,  priest  as  he  was  and  speaking  to 
Catholics,  to  insinuate  motives  of  a  loftier  kind  than  mere  thirst  for  discovery 
or  desire  of  profit.  He  was  defending  his  own  profound  convictions  all  the 
time.  He  was  thinking  also  of  souls  to  be  saved,  far  away  beyond  that 
mysterious  ocean,  which  barred  them  from  the  light  of  the  Gospel.  If  he 
could  not  communicate  to  lesser  soids  tlie  noble  confidence  he  felt  himself, 
he  at  least  did  much  to  weaken  prejudice  and  soften  down  hostility;  and 
when  glorious  success  had  crowned  that  western  voyage,  his  efforts  were 
gratefully  remembered. 

One  service,  rendered  by  Father  Perez  in  Palos,  was  the  introduction  of 
Columbus  to  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon.  The  three  brothers  Pinzon,  all  ex- 
perienced mariners,  lived  in  the  best  house  at  Palos.  Martin,  the  eldest,  had 
lately  returned  from  Rome  with  some  fresh  information,  which  predisposed 
him  to  favor  the  idea  of  Columbus.     He  brought   a  map  given  him  by  one 


22  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

of  Innocent  VIII's  librarians,  upon  wliicli  an  unnamed  land  was  marked  in 
the  far  west.  He  therefore  trusted  and  entered  heartily  into  the  scheme, 
agreed  to  accompany  Columbus,  and  to  provide  a  fine  little  caravel  named  the 
Nina,  with  lateen-sails,  belonging  to  Vincent  Pinzon — -the  youngest  of  the 
three  brothers  —  who  made  himself  famous  in  the  sequel,  as  the  discoverer 
of  Yucatan,  and  as  the  first  of  the  Spanish  captains  who  crossed  the  equi- 
noctial line.  An  ancient  vessel  called  the  Pinta  had  already  been  supplied 
by  the  municipality.  Columbus  h.ad  engaged  to  furnish  an  eighth  part  of 
the  expenses,  and  the  brothers  Pinzon  enabled  him  to  fulfil  his  engagement. 

Public  opinion  now  began  to  change.  For  the  demand  made  on  it, 
Palos  offered  as  a  second  vessel  a  carack  named  the  Galleja,  large,  heavy, 
and  very  solid.  She  had  four  masts,  was  decked  throughout,  and  her  long 
boat  is  said  to  have  been  thirty  feet  in  length.  Although  unsuited  for  the 
service  assigned  her,  neither  Columbus,  nor  his  counsellor.  Father  Perez, 
dared  to  refuse  her,  fearing  to  atid  to  tlelay  already  too  greatly  extended. 
Rapidly  she  was  ecjuippcd.  Columbus  even  chose  her  for  the  erection  of  his 
pavilion  as  admiral,  but  he  first  changed  her  name.  Placing  the  ship  under 
the  protection  of  the  Immaculate  Virgin,  he  had  her  blessed  and  called  the 
Santa  Maria. 

Thus  the  expedition  consisted  of  three  vessels  —  the  Santa  Maria,  the 
Pinta,  and  the  Nina — each  having  a  good  armament  and  provisions  for  a 
year.  The  Santa  Maria  carried  sixty-six  persons,  with  the  admiral  himself  in 
command,  and  strangely  enough  had  among  her  crew  an  Irishman  named 
William  Rice.  Martin  Pinzon,  with  his  brother  Francis  for  a  lieutenant,  had 
command  of  the  Pinta,  which  numbered  thirty  on  board.  The  Niiia,  com- 
manded by  Vincent  Pinzon,  carried  the  remainder  of  the  Palos  contingent, 
twenty-four  souls. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  in  finishing  his  review  of  the  equipage,  Colum- 
bus, as  was  his  custom,  made  an  address,  and  that  yielding  to  the  emotions  of 
his  heart,  he  spoke  to  his  hardy  hearers  of  God,  into  whose  hands  they  were 
about  to  commit  their  souls,  and  the  fate  of  the  expedition. 

Fear  and  danger  turned  their  hearts  to  heaven.  Each  confessed  his 
sins,  and  obtained  absolution.  With  Columbus  at  their  head,  the  crews 
marched  in  procession  to  the  sanctuary  of  La  Rabida,  to  implore  the  divine 
assistance,  and  to  put  themselves  under  the  special  protection  of  the  Most 
Blessed  Virgin.  Mass  was  said,  and  from  the  hands  of  Father  Perez  they 
all  received   Holy   Communion — true  bread  of  saints   and  heroes.     Before 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  23 

departing,  Columbus  took  his  son  James  from  the  convent  of  La  Rabida, 
and  sent  him  under  convoy  to  his  wife  at  Cordova,  having  himself  called 
there  on  his  way  from  Santa  Fe.  Having  thus  carefully  provided  for  all  that 
was  dearest  to  him  in  this  world,  the  admiral  retired  to  his  "cell"  to  wait 
for  a  good  east  wind.  He  had  previously  spent  the  chief  part  of  his  time  in 
the  Franciscan  monastery,  leaving  the  details  of  arrangement  to  the  Pinzons, 
who  were  in  every  way  competent  to  undertake  the  direction,  and  who  had 
too  large  a  stake  in  the  enterprise  to  be  suspected  of  negligence.  Everything 
was  ready,  the  baggage  on  board,  an<l  the  signal  flag  flying.  No  one  was 
allowed  to  step  ashore  except  the  admiral  himself,  and  he  was  to  be  sum- 
moned as  soon  as  the  first  breeze  should  begin  to  blow.  He  was  at  this 
period  a  member  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  and  attended  choir.  His 
favorite  book  was  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  We  may  well  imagine  that  his 
own  meditations  would  have  had,  at  such  a  time,  a  tinge  of  sublimity. 

The  three  vessels  were  ready;  but  what  vessels  for  such  a  voyage!  Only 
the  Santa  Maria  had  a  deck  with  forecastle  and  cabin;  the  others  had  only 
a  small  bridge  fore  and  aft,  and  the  rest  was  open,  and  the  Nina  carried  only 
fine  and  aft  sails!  Yet  they  were  to  cross  the  greatest  distance  on  the  ocean 
that  any  ship  had  ever  sailed;  they  were  to  venture  on  the  unknown  immen- 
sity of  an  ocean  suspected  and  feared  even  by  the  mariner  sailing  close  in  to 
the  shore;  they  were  to  face  unknown  labors,  chances,  dangers!  What  sea- 
men would  venture  on  a  long  voyage  in  such  boats  even  now  when  the  way  on 
the  ocean  is  so  well  known?  It  is  easy  to  explain  why  he  risked  his  great  un- 
dertaking with  such  wretched  means.  The  ditificulties  of  every  sort  and  oppo- 
sition he  had  met  with  during  so  many  years,  driving  him  to  put  up  with  any 
kind  of  a  vessel  for  his  attempt,  bitter  experience  had  taught  him  to  reduce  his 
demands  to  the  lowest  limits,  and  confine  himeslf  to  what  was  strictly  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  facilitate  the  obtaining  of  his  demand  by  the  smallness  of  what 
he  asked.  And  it  is  marvellous  how  perfectly  the  result  corresponded  with  his 
foresight;  for,  in  fact,  of  the  three  caravels  with  which  he  sailed,  only  one  re- 
turned with  him  to  Europe  to  bring  the  tidings  of  his  discovery.  And  the 
difficulties  he  met  with  in  finding  those  three  vessels  and  manning  them, 
show  plainly  enough  how  necessary  it  was  for  him  to  be  contented  with  them, 
even  if  they  did  not  answer  all  the  needs  of  his  voyage. 


24  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

"The  morning  is  breaking  on  Pales  bay, 
On  its  town,  and  wiiarf,  and  ramparts  grey, 
On  three  barlts  at  their  moorings  tliat  gallantly  ride. 
With  the  towers  of  Castile  on  their  flags  of  pride." 

It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  on  Friday,  the  3rd  of  August, 

1492.     Columbus   was  awakened   by   the  rustling  of  the   tall  pines,  whose 

tops  were  agitated  by  the  land  breeze;  and  at  once  the  keen,  practised  ear  of 

the  veteran   mariner  recognised  thft  expected  favorable  wind.     Quitting  his 

cell,  he  quietly   rapped  at  the  door  of  the  Father  Guardian.     The  brother 

sacristan  was  soon  up,  and  the  candles  lit,  preparatory  to  the  celebration  of 

Holy    Mass.     On  board  the  caravels,  the  watch-guards  might,  through  the 

stately   pine-trees,  see   the  high   window   panes  of  La   Rabida   shine  at  that 

unusual  hour.     While  the  community  was  peacefully  slumbering,  Columbus, 

with  gentle  step,  entered  the  chapel  of  Our  Lady.     For  him  it  was  a  morning 

of  joy  and  deep  solemnity.     Father  Perez,  robed  in  his  sacerdotal  vestments, 

ascended   the  steps  of  the  altar,  and  offered  up  the  august  Sacrifice  for  an 

intention,  perhaps  until  then,  unheard  of  since  the  institution  of  the  Blessed 

Eucharist.     At  the  time  of  Holy  Communion,  Columbus  received  the  Bread 

of  angels  by  way  of  viaticum. 

Thanksgiving  over,  the  admiral  and  the  priest  noiselessly  passed  out  of 
the  convent,  and,  absorbed  in  thought  and  silence,  wended  their  way  down 
the  declivity  that  leads  to  Palos.  The  last  stars  still  glittered  in  the  sk)',  and 
the  first  faint  glimmerings  of  dawn  began  to  appear  in  the  east.  Together 
they  arrived  at  the  town;  and  without  delay  the  cutter  of  the  Santa  Maria 
was  seen  approaching  the  shore  to  receive  the  admiral.  The  inmates  of 
the  neighboring  houses  were  awakened  by  the  shrill  voices  of  the  pilots 
and  boatswains.  In  a  moment  doors  and  windows  flew  open.  "  They're 
off!"  "They're  off!"  resounded  from  house  to  house.  Mothers  and  sisters, 
wives  and  children  hurried  to  the  quay  with  mingled  sighs  and  sobs  and  tears. 
Friends  and  relatives  threw  themselves  into  the  barks  to  bid  a  sad  adieu — 
perhaps  the  last  forever!  It  was  a  touching  scene.  Columbus  pressed  to 
his  heart  the  good  Father  Perez,  bid  a  silent  farewell,  received  his  parting 
benediction,  and,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  stepped  into  the  waiting  cutter.  On 
reaching  the  Santa  Maria  he  was  received  with  all  the  honors  due  to  an 
admiral  of  Castile.  He  ascended  the  poop  and  took  a  careful  glance  at  the 
arrangements.  The  signal  was  given;  the  boats  were  hoisted  aboard;  the 
anchors  were  lifted  to  the  prows.  Columbus  waved  a  final  adieu  to  his 
friend,  the  Franciscan  father,  and  to  the  crowd  on  the  shore.     Then,  with  a 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  25 

loud  voice,  from  his  place  on  the  quarter  deck,  he  ordered  the  sails  to  be  un- 
furled in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.  Every  eye  in  Palos  gazed  anxiously  on 
the  white  canvas,  as  the  little  squadron  pushed  out  to  sea,  and  sped  on  its 
dangerous  but  momentous  voyage. 


Chapter  II. 


Cattccit  of  a  Great  Discovcneit. 


INCIDENTS  ON  THE  Ocean  Wave.— Pious  Hymns  to  Our  Lady.— Mutiny  Among 
THE  Sailors.— First  Sight  of  Land,— Thanksgiving  Before  the  Cross.— 
The  Natives  and  Their  Fair  Domain.— Wreck  of  the  Admiral's  Ship.— 
Sent  Home  in  Chains.— Evening  of  a  Saintly  Life.— The  End  and  the 
World's  Tribute. 

^HIS  great  Catholic  enterprise  was  now  fairly  begun.  Columbus 
'?  1  had  attained  his  heart's  dearest  wishes.  Eighteen  years  of  toil, 
^''1  suffering,  watching  and  waiting  had  passed  away,  and  the  snows 
of  fifty-seven  winters  were  on  his  head,  when  he  thus  began  anew 
to  battle  with  storm  and  danger  on  the  bosom  of  the  mysterious 
ocean.  His  choice  was  made  and  his  Guide  did  not  fail  him. 
After  ordering  the  sails  to  be  set,  this  greatest  of  navigators  entered  his  cabin, 
and,  with  pen  in  hand,  began  the  diary  of  his  voyage,  the  very  first  words  he 
inscribed  in  it  being :     "  In  nomine  Domini  nostri  yesu  C/irisii." 

Of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  on  the  three  vessels  there  was  but 
one  calm  brow,  one  heart  that  knew  not  fear,  one  mind  "  constant  as  the 
northern  star.  Though  no  longer  young,  this  extraordinary  man  was  con- 
vinced that  his  life  yet  lay  before  him,  and  felt  within  himself  the  youth  of 
hope  and  an  immortal   future.     But   he   was  well  aware  that  even  then  little 

26 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  27 

was  needed  to  ruin  everything.  If  his  men  refused  to  sail  forward,  what 
could  he  do  ?  In  many  breasts  the  old  reluctance  had  been  only  smothered, 
not  properly  quenched,  and  the  smouldering  fire  of  disaffection  might  burst 
into  flames  at  the  slightest  provocation. 

After  leaving  the  Canary  Islands,  where  they  had  a  couple  of  weeks 
delay  to  refit  the  Pinta,  the  hearts  of  the  sailors  were  stricken  with  terror 
at  the  sight  of  the  volcano  of  Teneriffe,  an  eruption  from  which  was  just 
then  filling  the  sea  and  sky  with  a  lurid  outburst.  Tliey  thought  they  be- 
held in  this  the  flaming  sword  of  the  angel  who  drove  Adam  out  of  Paradise, 
waving  before  the  sons  of  men  to  warn  them  from  these  forbidden  seas  and 
shores.  Columbus  went  from  ship  to  ship,  in  order  to  dispel  the  panic,  and 
to  explain  scientifically  to  those  simple  men,  the  physical  laws  which  govern 
this  seemingly  awful  phenomenon.  But  when  the  peak  of  Teneriffe  had 
sunk  beneath  the  horizon,  the  mariners  bemoaned  its  loss  with  a  degree  of 
sorrow  equal  to  their  former  fear.  For  them  it  was  the  last  sea-mark,  the 
last  beacon  of  the  old  world;  and  in  losing  sight  of  it  they  seemed  to  have 
lost  the  very  traces  of  their  route  across  immeasurable  space.  They  felt  as 
if  detached  from  this  earth  altogether,  and  as  sailing  through  the  ether  of  the 
planet.  A  general  prostration  of  soul  and  body  seized  upon  them.  Once 
more  the  admiral  gathered  them  around  him  and  tried,  in  eloquent  words, 
to  infuse  into  their  souls  some  of  his  own  fire  and  energy. 

But  the  distance  alone  was  now  enough  to  terrify  the  crews.  In  order 
to  keep  them  in  ignorance  of  the  extent  sailed  over,  Columbus  was  accus- 
tomed every  night,  in  calculating  the  day's  progress,  to  subtract  a  part  of  the 
distance,  thus  keeping  two  reckonings  —  the  correct  one  for  his  own 
private  use,  the  other  to  satisfy  the  inquiries  of  his  officers  and  seamen.  The 
sequel  showed  the  worldly  wisdom  of  the  contrivance. 

When  the  squadron  had  sailed  about  two  hundred  leagues  west  of 
Teneriffe,  a  new  and  most  singular  phenomenon  began  to  puzzle  the  ad- 
miral. Gladly  would  he  have  concealed  it  from  all  his  companions.  This 
was  the  variation  of  the  needle  of  the  compass  —  his  last  and  hitherto  in- 
fallible guide — which  now  seemed  to  fail  him  on  the  borders  of  an  unknown 
hemisphere.  For  a  few  days  he  carried  in  his  own  mind  this  secret  and 
terrible  misgiving.  But  the  pilots  who  visited  the  binnacle  as  anxiously  as 
himself,  soon  noticed  the  singular  variations.  Sharing  fully  in  his  astonish- 
ment, but  less  determined  to  brave  nature  herself  in  the  prosecution  of  their 
enterprise,  they  concluded   that  on  the  border  of  illimitable  space,  even  the 


28  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

elements  themselves  were  no  longer  governed  by  invariable  laws.  Pale  and 
terrified  they  gave  utterance  to  their  doubts,  and  resigned  their  ships  to  the 
mercy  of  the  winds  and  waves,  as  thenceforth  their  only  guides.  All  the 
sailors  were  filled  with  consternation  on  perceiving  the  panic  which  had 
seized  the  pilots.  Columbus — who  had  vainly  endeavored  to  satisfy  his  own 
mind  on  the  reason  of  a  phenomenon  which  may  be  ranked  among  the 
mysteries  of  science — now  had  recource  to  that  rich  and  lively  imagination 
with  which  as  an  internal  compass,  Heaven  had  gifted  him.  He  invented 
for  these  untutored  minds  a  hasty  explanation.  He  told  them  that  the  direc- 
tion of  the  needle  was  not  to  the  pole  star,  but  to  some  fixed  and  invisible 
point.  The  variation,  therefore,  was  not  caused  by  any  fallacy  in  the  com- 
pass, but  by  the  movement  of  the  north  star  itself,  which,  like  other  heavenly 
bodies,  he  said,  had  its  changes  and  revolutions,  and  every  day  described  a 
circle  around  the  pole.  The  high  opinion  the  sailors  entertained  ox 
Columbus  as  a  profound  astronomer  gave  weight  to  his  theory,  and  their 
fear  subsided. 

The  change  of  the  heavenly  constellations  also  helped  to  alarm  them.  All 
things  were  strange — a  new  earth  and  a  new  sky  and  new  laws  of  nature. 
Columbus,  however,  seemed  to  know  no  fear,  or  only  to  fear  the  fears  of  his 
companions.  A  magnificent  meteor  filled  him  with  admiration,  but  the  crews 
with  terror.  His  trust  was  not  in  compass  or  constellations,  but  in  the  guid- 
ing hand  of  God  and  in  the  Star  of  the  Sea  shining  from  a  higher  heaven 
than  the  eyes  of  the  body  could  reach.  The  standard  of  the  Cross  was  float- 
ing overhead  to  disconcert  the  spirits  of  darkness  and  to  rectify  all  malignant 
influences  of  the  elements,  and  every  evening  the  sound  of  the  Salve  Regina 
and  the  Ave  Maris  Stella  sanctified  those  vast  solitudes  where  never  from 
creation's  dawn  the  voice  of  man  had  sounded  until  then — 

"They  were  the  first  that  ever  burst 
Into  that  silent  sea." 

The  admiral  shut  himself  up  at  stated  times  every  day,  to  make  his  medi- 
tation and  recite  his  office,  as  a  true  Franciscan.  He  was  pretty  nearly  all 
the  remainder  of  the  day  and  night  at  his  station  on  the  poop,  keeping  watch. 
The  weather  was  charming,  the  trade-wind  steady,  and  the  progress  rapid. 
But  the  hearts  of  the  wanderers  sank  within  them.  The  fair  wind  itself 
now  began  to  be  the  chief  of  all  their  terrors.  They  were  driving  along 
before  the  breeze  gaily  to  their  doom,  for  if  the  wind  blew  always  from  the 
east  how  could  they  ever  sail  back! 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  7.V  AMERICA  2g 

Already,  towards  the  end  of  September,  the  crews  were  ripe  for  mutiny. 
Argument  had  been  exhausted  ;  authority  was  little  regarded.  No  effort  was 
made  to  disguise  the  general  discontent.  But  Columbus  held  on  his  course. 
The  wind  shifted  to  the  west,  to  the  immense  relief  of  all.  Next  day,  a  calm 
ensued.  Then  light  breezes  came  and  went.  As  the  caravels  advanced 
slowly  they  encountered  great  masses  of  sea  weed,  for  they  had  arrived  at  the 
Mar  de  Sargasso,  where,  over  an  extent  of  surface  which  Humboldt  declares 
to  be  more  than  seven  times  the  area  of  France,  the  ocean  plain  is  thickly 
covered  with  floating  verdure,  and  sometimes  resembles  a  vast  undulating 
meadow.  At  first  the  greater  abundance  of  sea-weed  was  noticed  with 
delight,  as  a  sign  that  the  land  was  not  far  away.  Then  great  fears  began  to 
be  felt  lest,  perchance,  the  only  land  might  be  found  to  be  those  hidden 
ledges  and  drowned  islands,  of  which  many  fearful  tales  were  told.  Serious 
alarm  reigned  in  the  minds  of  the  crews.  They  believed  they  had  got  to 
those  endless  swamps  of  the  ocean,  which  were  said  to  serve  as  boundaries  to 
the  world,  and  as  tombs  for  the  curiosity  of  those  who  dared  to  enter  them. 
The  crowds  of  plants  growing  in  infinite  numbers,  presented  the  aspect  of  an 
unbounded  marsh,  which  the  Almighty  Creator  had  placed  as  a  limit  in  the 
ocean,  in  order  to  rebuke  the  rashness  of  mankind. 

The  most  fearless  turn  pale.  Now,  at  last,  they  had  reached  the  place 
of  their  doom.  No  breath  was  in  the  air,  no  ripple  marked  the  green  sea, 
which  stretched  away  without  limit — a  level  plain  on  every  side.  They  felt 
that  they  had  brought  their  fate  upon  themselves,  and  had  themselves  to 
thank.  Had  they  not  really  known  all  the  time  that  such  a  voyage  was  the 
extreme  of  madness? 

Fortunately  the  surface  did  not  long  remain  smooth;  great  billows  rose 
and  fell,  and  the  phantom  of  perpetual  stagnation  vanished,  as  the  phantom 
of  perpetual  east  wind  lyad  done.  On  the  25th  of  September,  the  Pinta  being 
close  to  the  Santa  Maria,  Martin  Pinzon,  deceived  by  a  cloud  upon  the  hori- 
zon, cried  out,  "Land!  land!  I  claim  the  prize."  All  his  crew  were  shouting 
with  joy;  the  men  of  the  Nina  ran  up  the  rigging  for  a  better  view  and  con- 
firmed the  announcement.  Columbus  fell  on  his  knees  and  intoned  the  Gloria 
in  excelsis.  When  the  mistake  was  discovered  the  revulsion  of  feeling  was 
terrible.  Signs  of  land  for  the  next  few  days  kept  a  glimmering  hope  alive, 
but  the  distance  which  severed  them  from  the  world  of  human  beings — 580 
leagues,  they  were  told,  but  really  707,  as  Columbus  well  knew — seemed  to 
shut  out  all  chances  of  return. 


30  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Nor  Tiust  it  be  imagined  that  these  mariners  were  without  stout  'uearts, 
but  what  a  daring  thing  it  was  to  plunge,  down-hill,  as  it  were,  into 

"A  world  of  waves,  a  sea  without  a  shore, 
Trackless,  and  vast,  and  wild," 

mocked  day  after  day  with  signs  of  land  that  neared  not.     They  had  left  at 

home  all  that  is  dearest  to  man  here  below,  and  did  not  bring  out  ^ny  great 

idea  to  uphold  them,  and  had  done  enough  to  make  them  importatit   men  in 

their  towns,  and  to  furnish  ample  talk  for  the  evening  of  their  Eves. 

Still  we  find  Columbus  as  late  as  the  3d  of  October  saying  "that  he  did 
not  choose  to  stop  beating  about  last  week  during  those  days  that  they  had 
such  signs  of  land,  although  he  had  knowledge  of  there  being  certain  islands 
in  that  neighborhood,  because  he  would  not  suffer  any  detention,  since  his 
object  was  to  go  to  the  Indies,  and  if  he  should  stop  on  the  way  it  would 
show  a  want  of  mind." 

During  all  this  long  voyage  the  admiral  held  communion  only  with  his 
own  thoughts,  the  stars  and  Heaven,  under  whose  protection  he  felt  himself 
to  be.  Almost  without  sleep  he  spent  his  days  in  his  cabin,  taking  note  of 
the  degrees,  the  latitudes  and  distance  he  reckoned  he  had  passed,  in  charac- 
ters no  one  but  himself  could  decipher,  and  spent  his  nights  on  deck  beside 
the  pilots,  studying  the  stars  and  the  appearance  of  the  sea.  He  was  almost 
utterly  alone.  Like  Moses  of  old,  leading  God's  people  through  the  desert, 
his  pensive  gravity  impressed  his  companions  with  a  mingled  respect,  distrust 
and  fear,  which  held  them  aloof  from  him. 

"  The  sea  is  always  fine,"  wrote  Columbus  in  his  diary,  "  be  infinite 
thanks  given  to  God."  But  he  was  now  fated  to  need  all  his  strength  and 
presence  of  mind.  The  hour  of  trial  and  fearful  test  was  at  hand.  The 
illusion  of  land  seen  but  never  found,  and  the  iron  purpose  of  Columbus  in 
pursuing  his  way  without  turning  either  to  the  right  or  the  left,  exasperated 
the  officers  who  counseled  a  different  course.  Murmurings  were  changed 
into  hatred.  The  crews  daily  grew  more  and  more  sullen — a  mark  of  the 
greatest  discouragement.  Unknown  to  the  officers  the  sailors  would  gather 
in  groups  of  three  or  four  to  console  one  another.  These  meetings  grew 
more  frequent.  Discontent  became  general.  Soon  no  pains  were  taken  to 
disguise  their  pent-up  feelings  of  fear  and  wrath.  As  Spaniards  they  natu- 
rally detested  this  eccentric  foreigner,  who  had  madly  resolved,  they  said,  to 
find  what  only  existed  in  his  over-heated  imagination.  In  order  to  be  able  to 
speak  ill  of  him — even  in  his  ver^  presence — they  gave  him   the  nicknames 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  3 1 

of  "  braggart"  and  "humbug."  The  old  sailors  whispered  to  one  anotner 
that  he  was  a  fool.  All  agreed  that  to  jiush  on  further  was  to  go  to  certain 
tlestruction. 

Was  it  right,  they  said,  that  one  hundred  and  twenty  men — most  of  them 
Castilians — should  perish  through  the  whims  of  this  dreaming  Genoese? 
Never!  He  must  be  told  to  turn  back  to  Spain;  and  in  case  of  his  refusal — 
why  heave  him  into  the  sea  he  so  much  admired.  This  rigorous  course  was 
unavoidable.  Necessity  knew  no  law.  Then,  it  would  be  easy  on  their 
return  to  publish  that  he  fell  of  accident  into  the  ocean,  while  observiiig  the 
stars.  There  was  even  a  secret  agreement  between  the  crews  of  the  three 
caravels.  This  conspiracy  had  almost  every  sailor  as  an  accomplice,  while  it 
had  nobody  as  chief. 

The  captains  of  the  Pinta  and  Niiia  were  not  ignorant  of  the  plot  which 
was  hatching  against  the  admiral,  but  their  superior  intelligence  prevented 
them  from  participating  in  the  fears  of  the  common  seamen.  They  care- 
fully abstained,  however,  from  saying  a  word.  But  many  times,  in  their 
communications  with  Columbus,  the  three  Pinzons,  by  their  lofty  airs  and 
haughty  proceedings,  made  him  sorely  feel  their  strength,  and  his  own  un- 
happy isolation. 

The  evening  of  the  loth  of  October — two  days  before  Columbus  doubled 
the  size  of  the  world's  map — saw  the  crews  in  a  state  of  open  revolt.  Their 
feelings,  so  long  pent  up,  now  burst  forth  like  the  roar  of  a  cataract.  Each 
night,  according  to  the  admiral's  orders,  the  three  vessels  drew  close  together; 
and,  in  the  present  instance,  no  sooner  had  they  drawn  near  than  the  Pinzons, 
followed  by  their  men,  all  armed,  jumped  on  the  deck  of  Columbus'  ship, 
and  with  fury  in  their  looks,  and  weapons  in  their  hands,  loudly  summoned 
him  at  once  to  turn  the  prows  of  the  caravels  to  Castile.  His  own  crew  and 
pilots  had  joined  in  the  revolt.  As  he  afterward  wrote  of  the  event,  he  was 
"alone  against  all!"  He  had  exhausted  words;  besides  terror-stricken  men 
neither  hear  nor  reason.  Yet  this  great  man,  equal  to  every  emergency, 
calmed  the  fury  of  those  rebellious  spirits;  although  far  from  yielding  to  their 
demands  he  boldly  declared,  in  a  tone  of  authority  which  only  a  hero  of 
resolution  can  assume,  that  their  complaints  were  in  vain — that  he  had  started 
to  go  to  the  Indies — and  that  neither  man  nor  devil  could  turn  him  from  his 
course  until,  with  the  assistance  of  Heaven,  he  would  reach  the  shores  he 
sought.  Wonderful  to  relate,  this  surging  mass  of  enraged  Spaniards  became 
sudtlenly  husheil  before  a  lone  man — a  foreigner  whom  they  detested!     Phi- 


32  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

losophy  cannot  explain  such  a  phenomenon.  It  stands  alone  in  history.  The 
finger  of  God  was  there. 

From  the  dawn  of  the  next  morning,  the  breezes  were  soft  and  balmy, 
vet  the  sea  swelled,  and  the  speed  of  the  caravels  increased.  Numbers  of 
petrels  were  seen.  A  reed,  a  green  bulrush,  a  small  plank,  a  branch  of  a 
tree  bearing  some  red  fruit,  and  a  stick  which  appeared  to  be  carved  with  a 
knife  were  observed  on  different  occasions  during  the  day.  Such  signs  sus- 
tained the  drooping  hopes  of  the  sailors. 

The  sun  went  down  flaming  into  the  vast  and  solitary  ocean.  Naught 
but  the  horizon  on  its  pure  azure  appeared  to  the  eye.  No  vapor  indicated 
that  land  was  near,  but  suddenly — as  if  by  inspiration — Columbus  changed 
his  course  somewhat,  and  ordered  the  helmsman  to  steer  due  west.  As  the 
caravels  came  together,  all  joined,  according  to  custom,  in  singing  the  Salve 
Regiiia — our  familiar  "Hail,  holy  Queen!" — at  the  conclusion  of  which  the 
admiral  made  them  a  touching  discourse.  He  spoke  of  the  mercy  of  that 
good  God  who  had  enabled  them  to  reach  seas  never  cut  by  keel  before. 
He  asked  them  to  raise  their  hearts  in  gratitude,  and  vanquish  their  fears,  that 
the  fulfillment  of  their  hopes  was  near  at  hand.  That  very  night,  he  said, 
would  see  the  end  of  their  memorable  voyage.  He  finally  recommended  all 
to  watch  and  pray,  as  their  eyes  would  behold  land  before  morning.  He 
ordered  the  pilots  to  lessen  sail  after  midnight,  and  promised,  besides  the 
queen's  premium,  a  velvet  doublet  to  the  person  who  would  first  announce 
land.  Columbus  then  returned  to  his  cabin.  What  passed  there  in  the  secret 
of  his  heart  has  not  been  given  to  history. 

The  greatest  animation  prevailed  throughoui  the  ships;  not  an  eye  was 
closed  that  night.  About  ten  o'clock,  the  admiral  mounted  tht  poop* 
Scarcely  had  he  got  there,  when  his  eagle  glance  seemed  to  discern  a  light  in 
the  distance.  Fearing  that  his  hopes  might  deceive  him  he  called  to  one  of 
his  officers  named  Peter  Gutierrez,  and  demanded  whether  he  saw  a  light  in 
that  direction;  the  latter  replied  in  the  affirmative.  Columbus,  yet  doubtful 
whether  it  might  not  be  some  delusion  of  the  fancy,  called  one  Roderic 
Sanchez,  and  made  the  same  inquiry.  By  the  time,  however,  t\\i  latter 
ascended  the  poop,  the  light  had  disappeared. 

After  midnight  they  proceeded  cautiously,  the  Pinta  being  considerably 
in  advance.  Every  eye  was  straining  through  the  gloom — every  heart  throb- 
bing. What  must  have  been  the  feelings  of  the  man,  whose  mind  had 
schemed,    whose    single  will  had  compassed,  so  sublime  a  venture?     Before 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  33 

him  wrapped  in  darkness,  lay  a  world  awaiting  discovery  in  the  light  of 
morning!  His  name  was  now  the  heritage  of  fame.  No  history  of  mankind 
could  pass  him  by  unnoticed.  God  was  to  be  glorified.  The  memory  of 
that  night  would  live  till  the  end  of  time. 

At  two  A.  M.,  by  the  clock  of  the  Santa  Maria,  a  flash  came  from  the 
Pinta,  followed  by  a  loud  report — the  signal  gun.  It  was  no  false  alarm  this 
time.  Roderic  de  Triana,  a  sailor  on  the  Pinta,  had  sighted  land.  Columbus, 
at  the  sound  of  the  gun,  fell  on  his  knees  and  chanted  the  Te  Deum;  his 
men  responded  with  full  hearts.  Then  they  went  wild  with  joy.  The  admiral 
ordered  the  sails  to  be  furled,  and  the  ships  to  be  put  in  a  state  of  defence,  for 
it  was  impossible  to  say  what  the  daylight  might  reveal.  His  officers  came 
crowding  round  to  offer  their  congratulations  and  their  genuine  reverence. 
Now  they  no  longer  blamed  his  obstinacy,  or  spoke  of  his  infatuation. 

It  was  Friday,  the  12th  of  October,  1492.  Friday — the  day  of  the 
Redemption — was  always  a  blessed  day  for  Columbus.  On  Friday  he 
sailed  from  Palos,  on  Friday  he  discovered  America;  on  Friday  he  planted 
the  first  cross  in  the  New  World ;  and  on  Friday  he  re-entered  Palos  in 
triumph.  At  dawn  of  this  fateful  day  there  was  seen  issuing  from  the  mists, 
a  flowery  land,  whose  groves,  colored  by  the  first  golden  rays  of  the  morn- 
ing sun,  exhaled  an  unknown  fragrance,  and  presented  most  smiling  scenes 
to  the  eye.  In  advancing,  the  men  saw  before  them  an  island  of  consider- 
able extent,  level,  and  without  any  appearance  of  mountains.  Thick  forests 
bounded  the  horizon,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  glade  shone  the  pure  and  spark- 
ling waters  of  a  lake.  Green  willows  and  sunny  avenues  gave  half  glimpses 
into  these  mysteries  of  solitude,  and  revealed  many  a  scattered  dwelling, 
seeming  by  its  rounded  form  and  roof  of  dried  leaves,  to  resemble  a  human 
hive,  from  which  the  curling  smoke  ascended  in  the  air,  greeting  the  glad 
sunbeams  of  that  early  hour.  Groups  of  half  naked  men,  women,  and 
children,  astonished  rather  than  alarmed,  came  down  among  the  trees  upon 
the  shore,  now  timidly  advancing,  and  again  returning,  showing  bj'  their 
lively  attitudes  and  gestures,  mingled  fear,  curiosity  and  admiration,  at  the 
sight  of  the  shio?  and  the  strangers,  whicli  the  previous  night  had  sent  them 
on  the  waves. 

Columbus,  after  silently  gazing  upon  the  shore  of  that  new  land,  so 
often  pictured  and  so  magnificently  colored  in  his  imagina.iin,  beheld  it  yet 
more  beautiful  than  he  had  dreamed.  Joy  made  his  heart  btat  faster.  He 
yearned  impatiently  to  be  the  first  to  set  a  European  foot  uprn  these  strange 


34  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

sands,  and  plant  thereon  the  cross  and  the  Spanish  flag,  the  standards  of  a 
conquest  made  by  his  genius  for  God  and  his  sovereigns.  But  he  restrained 
his  own  anxiety,  and  that  of  his  men  to  land,  wishing  to  invest  this  taking 
possession  of  a  New  World  with  all  the  solemnity  befitting  the  greatest 
achievement  ever  accomplished  by  a  navigator.  Since  human  witnesses  were 
wanting,  he  wished  to  call  God  and  his  angels,  sea,  and  land,  and  sky,  to  bear 
testimony  to  his  victory  over  the  hitherto  unknown  world ! 

When  all  was  ready,  the  anchors  were  dropped,  orders  were  given  to 
man  the  boats,  and  Columbus,  with  majestic  countenance  and  great  recollec- 
tion— as  one  who  walked  in  the  presence  of  God — descended  into  his  own 
cutter.  He  was  richly  attired  in  the  costume  of  his  dignities.  A  scarlet 
mantle  hung  from  his  shoulders,  and  he  held  displayed  in  his  hand,  the  image 
of  Jesus  Christ  on  the  royal  flag.  The  captains  of  the  Pinta  and  Niiia, 
Martin  and  Vincent  Pinzon,  likewise  put  off  their  boats,  each  accompanied 
by  a  well-armed  detachment,  and  bearing  the  banner  of  the  enterprise 
emblazoned  with  a  green  cross. 

With  mute  delight,  and  all  the  elastic  ardor  of  youth,  the  admiral 
stepped  on  shore.  Scarcely  had  he  touched  the  new  land,  when  he  planted 
in  it  the  standard  of  the  Cross.  Ilis  heart  swelled  with  gratitude.  In  adora- 
tion, he  prostrated  himself  before  God.  Three  times  bowing  his  head,  with 
tears  in  his  eyes,  he  kissed  the  soil  to  which  he  was  conducted  by  the  divine 
goodness.  The  sailors  participated  in  the  emotions  of  their  commander,  and 
kneeling,  as  he  did,  elevated  a  crucifix  in  the  air.  Raising  his  countenance 
towards  heaven,  the  gratitude  of  his  soul  found  expression  in  that  beautiful 
prayer  which  has  been  preserved  by  history  and  which  was  afterwards 
repeated  by  order  of  the  sovereigns  of  Castile  in  subsequent  discoveries. 

"Lord!  Eternal  and  Almighty  God!  who  by  Thy  sacred  word  hast 
created  the  heavens,  the  earth,  and  the  seas,  may  Thy  name  be  blessed  and 
glorified  everywhere.  May  Thy  Majesty  be  exalted,  who  hast  deigned  to 
permit  that  by  Thy  humble  servant,  Thy  sacred  name  should  be  made  know. 
and  preached  in  this  other  part  of  the  world." 

Standing  up  with  great  dignity,  he  displayed  the  standard  of  the  Cross, 
offering  up  to  Jesus  Christ  the  first  fruits  of  his  discovery.  Of  himself  he 
thought  not.  He  wished  to  give  all  the  glory  to  God,  and  he  named  the 
island  San  Salvador,  which  means  "  Holy  Savior." 

Columbus  then  drew  his  sword,  and  all  the  officers  domg  the  same,  he 
declared  that  he  took  possession  of  that  land  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  for  the 
crown  of  Castile.     The  notary  royal  was  ordered  to  draw  up  the  proceedings 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  35 

ft)  prescribed  form.  He  then  called  upon  all  present  to  take  the  oath  of 
obedience  to  him  as  admiral,  viceroy,  and  representative  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella. 

Not  only  did  his  lieutenants,  his  pilots,  and  his  crews  swear  obedience  to 
the  admiral,  but  they  were  overcome  with  wild  joy,  and  filled  with  intense 
reverence  for  one  whose  wondrous  glance  had  penetrated  beyond  the  limits 
of  the. visible  horizon,  and  whom  they  had  so  lately  outraged  by  their  blind 
rebellion.  Overawed  by  his  mental  superiority,  they  now  fell  at  his  feet, 
kissed  his  hands  and  clothes,  and,  for  a  moment,  recognized  the  dignity  and 
grandeur  of  genius.  But  yesterday,  they  considered  themselves  the  victims 
of  his  obstinacy ;  to-day  they  felt  they  were  the  companions  of  his  success — 
radiant  with  the  glory  against  which  they  had  so  lately  blasphemed! 

Let  us  now  glance  at  the  natives.  When,  at  the  dawn  of  day,  they  had 
beheld  the  ships  hovering  on  the  coast,  they  supposed  them  to  be  some 
monsters,  which  had  issued  from  the  deep  during  the  night.  Their  veering 
about,  without  any  apparent  effort,  and  the  shifting  and  furling  of  their  sails, 
resembling  huge  wings,  filled  them  with  astonishment.  When  they  beheld 
the  boats  approach  the  shore,  and  a  number  of  strange  beings,  clad  in  glittering 
steel,  or  raiment  of  various  colors,  landing  upon  the  beach,  they  fled  in  affright 
to  the  woods.  Finding,  however,  that  there  was  no  attempt  to  pursue  or 
molest  them,  they  gradually  recovered  from  their  terror,  and  approached  the 
Spaniards  with  great  awe,  frequently  prostrating  themselves,  and  making 
signs  of  adoration. 

During  the  ceremony  of  taking  possession,  they  remained  gazing,  in 
timid  admiration,  at  the  complexion,  the  beards,  the  shining  armor,  and  splen- 
did dress  of  the  opaniards.  The  admiral  particularly  attracted  their  attention, 
from  his  commanding  height,  his  air  of  authority,  his  scarlet  dress,  and  the 
deference  paid  to  him  by  his  companions.  When  they  had  still  further 
recovered  from  their  fears,  they  approached  the  Spaniards,  touched  their 
beards,  and  examined  their  hands  and  faces,  admiring  their  whiteness.  Fol- 
lowing the  example  set  them  by  Columbus,  the  mariners  received  with  smiles 
of  kindness  those  artless  children  of  the  forest,  and  quietly  submitted  to  their 
examinations. 

The  wondering  savages  were  won  by  this  benignity ;  they  now  supposed 
tliat  till'  ships  had  sailed  out  of  the  crystal  firmament  which  bouiuled  their 
horizon,  or  had  descended  from  above,  on  their  ample  wings,  and  that  these 
marvellous  beings  were  natives  of  the  skies. 


j6  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

The  people  of  the  island  were  no  less  objects  of  curiosity  to  the  Span- 
iards, differing,  as  they  did,  from  any  race  of  men  they  had  ever  seen.  They 
were  entirely  naked,  of  a  moderate  stature,  well-shaped,  of  a  copper  hue, 
with  agreeable  features,  lofty  foreheads  and  fine  eyes.  The  hair  was  coarse 
and  straight;  they  had  no  beards,  and  were  painted  with  a  variety  of  colors. 
They  appeared  to  be  a  simple  and  artless  race,  and  of  gentle  and  friendly 
dispositions.  Their  only  arms  were  lances,  hardened  at  the  end  by  fire,  or 
pointed  with  a  flint  or  the  bone  of  a  fish.  Columbus  distributed  among  them 
colored  caps,  glass  beads,  hawk's  bells  and  other  trifies,  which  they  received 
as  inestimable  gifts,  and,  decorating  themselves  with  them,  were  wonderfully 
delighted  with  their  finery. 

After  Columbus  had  completed   the  formalities  of  taking  possession  of 

the  island,   he  ordered   the  carpenters  to   construct  a  large   wooden  cross. 

This  was  soon  done.     At  his  desire  the  hole  in  which  the  pole  of  the  banner 

had  been  planted  in  this  shore  was  enlarged.     Into  this  hole  was  placed  the 

end  of  the  erected  cross,  which  was  sustained  by  the  admiral  himself,  while 

the  hymn,  Vcxilla  Regis. 

"The  banners  of  Heaven's  King  advance, 
The  mystery  of  the  Cross  shines  forth," 

was  chanted  by  the  whole  party.     When  the  sacred  sign  was  solidly  fixed  in 

the  soil  he  intoned  that  grand  hymn  of  victory,  the  Tc  Deum.     Thus  did  the 

great    Columbus    erect    the   sign    of    redemption    in    the    New    World,   not 

merely  as  a  mark  of  prior  occupation,  but  as  a  memorial  of   the  fact  that  he 

took   possession  of   this   land   in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.     As   the  day  was 

now  growing  late,  he   said  evening  prayers  before  the  rough   cross,  and  on 

finishing  this  pious  act  he  took  up  the  flag  of   the  expedition  and  returned  on 

board  the  Santa  Maria. 

The  island  which  Columbus  had  just  offered  to  God,  and  named  San 
Salvador,  was  called,  in  the  language  of  the  natives,  "Guanahani."  It  is  one 
of  that  group  which  geographers  now  term  the  Bahama  Islands.  The 
admiral  supposed  it  to  be  at  the  extremity  of  India,  and  therefore  called  the 
inhabitants  Indians — a  name  which  has  since  been  extended  to  all  the  aborig- 
ines of  the  New  World. 

San  Salvador  was  soon  explored.  Among  its  natural  advantages  is 
noticed  "  stone  for  building  churches."  The  poor  natives  in  all  parts  of  it 
received  the  strangers  with  the  most  sincere  hospitality.  Seven  of  the 
Indians  were  easily  induced   to  go  with   Columbus,  and  he  seems  to  have 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  37 

distributed  them  among  the  three  vessels.  One  of  them  deserted,  but  others 
were  added  from  Cuba  and  San  Domingo.  He  designed  to  present  them  to 
their  Catholic  Majesties,  to  have  them  instructed  in  the  Faith,  and  then  to 
send  them  back  to  their  country  to  help  forward  the  work  of  conversion. 

When  he  sailed  away  from  San  Salvador,  the  admiral  at  once  found 
himself  in  an  archipelago,  pleasantly  embarrassed  by  the  multitude  of  islands 
offered  to  his  choice.  He  steered  for  the  largest,  which  he  named  Santa 
Maria  de  la  Concepcion,  for  the  Immaculate  Virgin.  Another  island  he 
named  Fernandina,  and  one  Isabella. 

Sailing  across  from  Isabella  the  admiral  discovered  Cuba,  where  the 
Spaniards  first  saw  potatoes  and  tobacco.  Continuing  his  explorations  he 
reached  Hayti,  which  he  named  Flispaniola,  and  on  the  coast  of  which  the 
Santa  Maria  grounded  on  a  sand-bank  and  was  soon  a  total  wreck.  The 
admiral  built  a  fort  at  this  point,  and  leaving  it  in  trust  of  a  small  body  of 
mariners  he  boarded  the  Nina  and  sailed  for  Spain  in  January,  1493. 

But  scarcely  was  the  prow  of  his  little  bark  turned  on  its  homeward 
voyage,  when  a  fearful  tempest  threatened  to  engulf  the  discoverer  of 
America.  His  skill  was  tasked  to  the  utmost;  nor  did  he  fail  to  look  up  to 
Heaven  for  assistance.  In  those  dark  hours  of  distress  he  implored  the  pro- 
tection of  our  Blessed  Mother,  and  vowed  a  pilgrimage  to  her  nearest  shrine 
the  first  land  he  touched — a  vow  punctually  fulfilled. 

When  the  great  admiral  once  more  touched  the  shores  of  sunny  Spain, 
his  first  act  was  a  solemn  procession  to  the  monastery  of  La  Rabida.  The 
faithful  Father  Perez  said  a  Mass  of  thanksgiving,  and  the  Te  Deum  was 
chanted.  In  his  letter  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  signifying  his  arrival,  there 
is  no  tinge  of  egotism,  no  talk  about  his  achievements.  He  simply  asks 
Spain  to  exhibit  a  holy  joy,  "for  Christ  rejoices  on  earth  as  in  Heaven,  seeing 
the  future  redemption  of  souls." 

The  court  was  at  Barcelona,  and  the  progress  of  Columbus  towards  that 

city  was  like  the  march  of  some  victorious  monarch.    Ferdinand  and  Isabella 

received  him  with  royal  magnificence. 

"A  thousand  trumpets  ring  within  old  Barcelona's  walls, 
A  thousand  gallant  nobles  throng  In  Barcelona's  halls. 
All  met  to  gaze  on  him  who  wrought  a  pathway  for  mankind, 
Through  seas  as  broad,  to  worlds  as  rich  as  his  triumphant  mind; 
And  King  and  Queen  will  grace  forsooth  the  mariner's  array, 
The  lonely  seaman,  jcoffed  and  scorned  in  Palos  town  one  day, 
Me  comes,  he  comes!   The  gates  swing  wide,  and  tlirough  the  streets  advance 
His  cavalcade  In  proud  parade,  with  plume  and  pennoned  lance, 


38  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

And  natives  of  those  new-found  worlds,  and  treasures  all  untold — 
And  in  the  midst  the  admiral,  his  charger  trapped  with  gold; 
And  all  with  joy  are  wild,  and  blithe  the  gladsoine  clarions  swell. 
And  dames  and  princes  press  to  greet,  and  loud  the  myriads  yell. 
They  cheer,  that  mob,  they  wildly  cheer — Columbus  checks  his  rein, 
And  bends  him  to  the  beauteous  dames  and  cavaliers  of  Spain." 

The  discoverer  of  America  was  now  honored  by  princes,  and  his  praise 
was  sounded  by  those  who  had  mocked  him  in  other  days.  It  was  a  moment 
of  prosperity — a  gleam  of  sunshine  before  the  gathering  clouds  that 
announce  the  storm.  Up  to  this  time  his  enemies  had  done  nothing  worse 
than  to  waste  his  time  and  health  and  strength,  and  delay  his  work.  It  was 
now  to  be  their  base  part  to  ruin  his  benevolent  schemes,  to  bring  his  gray 
hairs  in  sorrow  to  the  grave,  and  to  heap  reproaches  on  his  memory. 

After  a  short  repose,  Columbus  pushed  the  preparations  for  a  second 
voyage.  He  had  in  view  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  to  the  Catholic 
Faith  and  vast  schemes  of  colonization.  Among  the  noted  persons  who  ac- 
companied him  were  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  John  de  la  Cosa,  John  Ponce  de 
Leon,  his  old  friend,  Father  John  Perez,  the  Franciscan,  and  a  Vicar  Apos- 
tolic, Father  Bernard  Boil,  of  the  ancient  order  of  St.  Benedict.  There  were 
twelve  missionary  priests.  The  expedition,  which  consisted  of  seventeen  ships 
and  about  fifteen  hundred  persons,  reached  Hispaniola  late  in  the  fall  of  1493. 

The  foundation  of  the  ill-starred  city  of  Isabella  was  laid,  and  the  work 
of  settlement  commenced.  But  from  that  to  the  day  of  his  death,  the  life  of 
the  illustrious  admiral  was  one  ceaseless  conflict  with  calumny,  avarice,  and 
misfortune.  He  was  soon  surrounded  by  a  host  of  bitter  enemies.  We  may  not, 
in  this  history,  enter  into  details.    There  is  no  space  and  the  story  is  too  sad. 

Meanwhile  the  Franciscan  fathers,  on  January  6,  1494,  blessed,  on  the 
island  of  Hayti,  the  first  rude  temple  of  the  Most  High  in  the  New  World. 
Churches  were  established  in  others  of  the  West  India  islands,  and— t© 
anticipate  a  little — an  episcopal  see  was  erected  at  St.  Domingo  in  15 13,  and 
a  few  years  after  there  were  bishops  at  Yucatan  and  Santiago  de  Cuba. 

In  a  few  years,  Columbus  found  it  necessary  to  leave  his  brother  Don 
Bartholomew  in  command  and  proceed  to  Spain  in  order  to  defend  himself 
against  the  slanderous  charges  made  by  his  foes  in  the  New  World.  He 
succeeded.  He  then  organized  an  expedition  for  his  third  voyage,  in  which 
he  discovered  the  mainland  of  South  America,  August  i,  1498.  The  part 
first  seen  was  the  delta  of  the  Orinoco. 

But  misfortune  kept  pace  with  his  discoveries.  In  a  short  time  the 
malice  of  his  enemies   succeeded  in   having   him  sent  home  in  chains  on  a 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  39 

vessel  called    the    Gordo.      And    thus    shamefully    shackled    in    irons  were 
"  hands  that  the  rod  of  empire  might  have  swayed."' 

"  I  shall  preserve  these  chains,"  said  the  great  discoverer,  "  as  memorials 
of  the  reward  of  my  services  !" 

"He  did  so,"  writes  his  son  Ferdinand.    "I  saw  them  always  hanging  in  his 
cabinet,  and  he  requested  that  when  he  died,  they  might  be  buried  with  him." 

The  sight  of  Columbus  in  chains  aroused  a  feeling  of  indignation.  It 
was  a  most  disgraceful  affair.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  it  is  true,  expressed 
great  sorrow ;  but  a  gross  injustice — never  to  be  repaired — was  done  the 
venerable  prince  of  discoverers. 

After  another  period  of  repose,  he  set  out  on  his  fourth  and  last  voyage, 
in  May,  1502.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  younger  son  Ferdinand,  his 
noble  brother  Don  Bartholomew,  and  his  faithful  friend  James  Mendez. 
Though  now  sixty-six  years  of  age  and  in  broken  health,  the  great  old 
admiral  intended  to  circumnavigate  the  globe.  Various  reasons  made  him 
hope  to  find  a  strait  at  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  He  would  pass  through  it, 
and  sail  around  the  world.  He  was  mistaken,  of  course;  but  the  guess  ran 
strangely  near  the  truth. 

The  astonishing  resources  of  his  genius,  and  his  patience  in  suffering, 
were  never  more  heavily  taxed  than  in  this  expedition.  He  discovered  the 
northern  coast  of  Honduras,  and  after  a  desperate  struggle  with  wind  and 
waves,  the  badly-damaged  ships  rounded  a  cape,  and  at  once  found  fair 
weather  and  free  navigation.  Columbus,  full  of  gratitude  to  Heaven,  named 
the  cape  Gracios  a  Dios,  or  "  Thanks  be  to  God" — a  name  retained  to  this  day. 

He  then  stood  towards  the  south,  and  coasted  along  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  carefully  examining  every  bay  and  inlet  in  search  of  his  supposed 
strait  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific;  and  not  finding  what  he  sought, 
he  directed  the  prows  of  his  now  sinking,  crazy,  and  worm-eaten  vessels 
across  the  Caribbean  Sea,  but  was  forced  to  run  them  aground  on  the  shores 
of  Jamaica.  While  there,  mutiny  weakened  his  authority,  and  famine  stared 
him  in  the  face.  It  was  only  by  predicting  an  eclipse  that  he  compelled  the 
savage  and  treacherous  natives  to  supply  him  with  food,  thus  preserving  him- 
self and  his  diminished  crews  from  death  by  starvation.  After  countless  advent- 
ures, and  weighed  down  by  age  and  infirmities,  he  returned  to  Spain  in  1504. 
The  death  of  the  generous  Isabella  destroyed  his  last  hopes  of  being 
reinstated  in  his  dignities.  Ferdinand  treated  him  with  shameful  ingratitude. 
The  mighty  admiral   who   gave  Spain  a   hemisphere,  did  not  own  a  roof   in 


40  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Spain,  and  closed  his  days  in  the  shades  of  poverty  and  neglect.  In  a  letter 
to  his  son  James,  he  urges  him  to  extreme  economy.  "  I  receive  nothing  of 
the  revenue  due  to  mc,"  he  writes,  "  but  live  by  borrowing.  Little  have  I 
profited  by  twenty  years  of  toils  and  perils,  since  at  present  I  do  not  own  a 
roof  in  Spain.  I  have  no  resort  but  an  inn,  and  during  most  of  the  time,  1 
have  not  money  to  pay  my  bill." 

But  to  the  last  his  moral  and  intellectual  greatness  stood  out  in  bold 
relief,  cUar  and  majestic.  He  made  his  will,  turned  his  thoughts  to  heaven, 
received  the  last  sacraments  with  all  the  devotion  of  his  magnificent  soul,  and 
murmured  in  dying  accents,  "Into  thy  hands,  O  Lord!  I  commend  my 
spirit."  His  bed  was  surrounded  by  his  two  sons,  James  and  Ferdinand, 
some  friends,  and  a  few  Franciscan  fathers.  And  thus  died  Christopher 
Columbus,  the  discoverer  of  America,  at  Valladolid,  on  the  30th  of  May, 
1506.     He  was  about  seventy-one  years  of  age. 

The  great  admiral  was  buried  as  he  directed,  with  his  chains  in  his 
coffin,  among  the  Franciscans  of  Valladolid,  but  in  1573  was  transferred 
with  pomp  to  the  Carthusian  convent  of  Santa  Maria  at  Seville.  His  journeys 
were  not,  however,  ended.  In  153G  the  bones  and  chains  of  Columbus 
crossed  the  ocean  and  were  deposited  on  the  right  of  the  high  altar  of  the 
calhedral  of  San  Domingo.  Nearly  three  centuries  later,  San  Domingo  came 
into  the  possession  of  France.  The  Spaniards,  who  were  obliged  to  depart, 
could  not  bear  to  abandon  to  another  nation  the  venerated  bones  of  the  dis- 
coverer of  the  New  World.  On  the  20th  of  December,  1795,  the  clergy, 
governor  and  people  assembled  in  the  church,  and  disinterring  those  bones 
again,  celebrated  most  solemn  obsequies  and  bore  them  to  the  sea.  A  vessel 
transported  them  to  Havana  in  Cuba,  where  the  clergy,  the  governor  and  the 
people  repeated  the  funeral  ceremonies  with  the  same  pomp,  and  deposited 
them  in  the  cathedral. 

To  the  day  of  his  death  he  was  an  ardent  student,  "ever  trying  to  find 
out  the  secrets  of  nature."  His  mind  had  grasped  all  kinds  of  knowledge. 
He  was  equally  familiar  with  the  ancient  geographers  and  the  Fathers  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  His  poetical  imagination  was  governed  in  its  flights  by  a 
strong  practical  judgment;  and  his  discovery  of  America  has  been  truly  called 
"a  conquest  of  reflection." 


MOST  REV.  WILLIAM  H.  O'CONNELL,  D.  D., 
Archbishop  of  Boston,  Mass. 


CHURCHES    IN  THE    ARCHDIOCESE   OF   BOSTON. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  4 1 

But  it  was  virtue,  above  all,  that  crowned  the  manly  integrity  of  his 
character.  God  and  religion  held  the  first  place  in  his  mind.  "  Throughout 
his  life,"  says  Irving,  ''  he  was  noted  for  a  strict  attention  to  the  offices  of 
religion;  nor  did  his  piety  consist  in  mere  forms,  but  partook  of  that  lofty 
and  solemn  enthusiasm  with  which  his  whole  character  was  strongly 
tinctured." 

A  Catholic  of  Catholics,  if  this  prince  of  pioneers  desired  to  open  the 
way  to  unknown  continents,  and  to  raise  large  sums  of  money,  it  was  not 
through  any  motive  of  grasping  selfishness.  Before  St.  Ignatius  Loyola 
adopted  the  maxim,  Ad  ma/o/-e»i  Dei gloriam, — "To  the  greater  glory  of 
God" — Columbus  put  it  in  practice.  To  carry  the  light  of  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen,  to  connect  the  ends  of  the  earth  for  the  glory  of  Heaven,  to  rescue 
the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  hands  of  the  infidel  Turk — such  were  the 
grand  motives  that  guided  his  life's  labors.  Though  a  layman,  he  was  one 
of  the  greatest  of  missionaries.  His  discoveries  led  to  the  salvation  of  mil- 
lions of  souls,  and  this  messenger  of  the  Cross  rivals  the  most  illustrious  of 
the  saints  in  being  the  means  of  unlocking  the  portals  of  paradise  to  count- 
less multitudes.  America,  and  the  world  at  large,  might  well  do  honor  in 
Chicago  to  his  memory  and  his  achievements.  While  he  has  handed  down 
to  all  ages  an  imperishable  name,  he  has  also  left  an  example  to  posterity-— 
and  particularly  to  us  Americans,  who  owe  him  so  much  gratitude  and 
reverence— that  far  outweighs  in  importance  his  contributions  to  science  and 
his  efforts  to  aggrandize  his  adopted  country.  He  has  proved  in  his  own 
person  that  a  soul  filled  with  deep  and  intense  devotion  to  the  Creator,  and  a 
will  conformable  in  all  things  to  His  laws,  are  alone  capable  of  leading 
huma.5  beings  to  the  achievement  of  true  and  lasting  greatness. 

He  was  a  man  whom  danger  could  not  daunt, 

Nor  sophistry  perplex,  nor  pain  subdue; 
A  stoic,  reckless  of  the  world's  vain  taunt. 

And  steeled  the  path  of  lionor  to  pursue. 
So  when  by  all  deserted,  still  he  knew 

How  best  to  soothe  the  lieart-sick,  or  confront 
Sedition;  schooled  with  equal  eje  to  view 

The  frowns  of  grief  and  the  base  pangs  of  want. 
But  when  he  saw  that  promised  land  arise 

In  all  its  rare  and  bright  varieties, 
Lovelier  than  fondest  fancy  ever  trod. 

Then  softening  nature  melted  in  his  eyes; 
He  knew  his  fame  was  full,  and  blessed  his  God; 

And  fell  upon  his  face,  and  kissed  the  virgin  sod. 

Poet  and  historian  alike  have  employed  their  highest  eloquence  in  doing 


42  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

honor  to  this  remarkable  iiian,  but  his  character,  which  they  wreathe  in 
eulogy,  will  appear  in  its  truest  aiul  most  Catholic  light  from  the  last  will 
and  testament  which  he  left  behind,  and  of  which  a  careful  translation  is 
here  appended : — 

®ljc  W\[[  of  Columbus. 

In  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  who  inspired  me  with  the  idea, 
and  afterwaiils  matie  it  perfectly  clear  to  me,  that  I  could  navigate  and  go  to 
tiie  Indies  from  Spain,  by  traversing  the  ocean  west  wardly ;  which  I  com- 
municated to  I'.ie  knig,  Don  Ferdinand,  and  to  the  queen.  Dona  Isabella,  our 
sovereigns;  and  they  were  pleased  to  furnish  me  the  necessary  equipment  of 
men  and  ships,  and  to  make  me  their  admiral  over  the  said  ocean,  in  all  parts 
lying  to  the  west  of  an  imaginary  line,  drawn  from  pole  to  pole,  a  hundred 
leagues  west  of  the  Cape  de  Verd  and  Azore  Islands;  also  appointing  me 
their  viceroy  and  governor  over  all  continents  and  islands  that  I  might  dis- 
cover beyond  the  said  line  westwardly,  with  the  right  of  being  succeeded  in 
the  said  ottices  by  my  eldest  son  and  his  heirs  forever;  and  a  grant  of  the 
tenth  part  of  all  things  found  in  the  said  jurisdiction;  and  of  all  rents  and 
revenues  arising  from  it;  and  the  eighth  of  all  tlie  lands  and  everything  else, 
together  with  the  salary  corresponding  to  my  rank  of  atlmiral,  viceroy  and 
governor,  and  all  other  emoluments  accruing  thereto,  as  is  more  fully 
expressed  in  the  title  and  agreement  sanctioned  by  their  Highnesses. 

And  it  pleased  the  Lord  Almighty  that  in  the  year  1492  I  should  dis- 
cover the  continer.c  of  the  Indies  and  many  islands, among  them  Hispaniola, 
which  the  Indians  call  Ayte,  and  the  Monicongos,  Apango.  I  then  returned 
to  Castile  to  their  highnesses,  who  approved  of  my  undertaking  a  secontl 
enterprise  for  further  discoveries  and  settlements;  and  the  Lord  gave  me 
victory  over  the  Island  of  Hispaniola,  which  extends  six  hundred  leagues, 
and  I  conquered  it  and  made  it  tributary;  and  I  discovered  many  islands 
nhabited  by  cannibals,  and  seven  hundred  to  the  west  of  Hispaniola,  among 
which  is  Jamaica,  which  we  call  Santiago,  and  three  hundred  and  thirt3'-three 
leagues  of  continent  from  south  to  west,  besides  a  hundred  and  seven  to  the 
north,  which  I  discovered  in  my  first  voyage,  together  with  many  islands,  as 
may  more  clearly  be  seen  by  my  letters,  memorials,  and  maritime  charts. 
And  as  we  hope  in  God  that  before  long  a  good  and  great  revenue  will  ht 
derived  from  the  above  islands  and  continents,  of  which  for  the  reasons 
aforesaid  belong  to  me  the  tenth  and  the  eighth,  with  the  salaries  and  emolu- 
ments specified  above;  and  considering  that  we  are  mortal,  and  that  it  is 
proper  for  every  one  to  settle  his  affairs,  and  to  leave  declared  to  his  heirs 
and  successors  the  property  he  possesses  or  may  have  a  right  to  Wherefore 
I  have  concluded  to  create  an  entailed  estate  (Mayorazgo)  out  of  the  said 
eighth  of  the  lands,  places,  and  revenues,  in  the  manner  which  I  now  proceed 
to  state. 

In  the  first  place,  I  am  to  be  succeeded  by  Don  Diego,  my  son,  who  in 
case  of  death  without  children  is  to  be  succeeded  by  my  other  son  Ferdinand; 
and  should  God  dispose  of  him  also  without  leaving  children,  and  without 
my  having  any  other  son,  then  my  brother  Don  Bartholomew  is  to  succeed; 
and  after  him  his  eldest  son;  and  if  God  should  dispose  of  him  without  heirs, 
he   shall    be   succeeded  by   his  sons  from  one  to  another  forever;  or,  in  the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  JX  AMERICA  43 

failure  of  a  son,  to  be   succeeded  by  Don  Ferdinand,  after  the  same  manner; 
from   son  to  son  successively,  or  in  their  place  by  my  brothers  Bartholomew 
and    Diego.     And    should    it    please   the    Lord  that  the  estate,  after  having 
continued  for  some  time  in   the  line  of  any  of  the  above  successors,  should 
stand    in    need  of  an    i<n mediate    and  lawful  male  heir,  the  succession  shall 
then   devolve   to  the  nearest  relation,  being  a  man  of  legitimate  birth,  and 
bearing  the  name  of  Columbus,  derived   from   his  father  and   his  ancestors. 
This  entailed  estate  shall  in  no  wise  be  inherited  by  a  woman,  except  in  case 
that  no  male  is  to  be  fouid,  either  in  this  or  any  other  quarter  of  the  world, 
of  my  real  lineage,  whose   name,  as  well  as  that  of  his  ancestors  shall  have 
always  been  Columbus.     In  such  an   event,  (which  may  God  forefend!)  then 
the  female  of   legitimate  birth,  most  nearly  related  to  the  preceding  possessor 
of  the  estate,  shall  succeed  to  it;  and  this  is  to  be  under- the  conditions  herein 
stipulated  at  foot,  which  must  be  understood  to  extend  as  well  to  Don  Diego, 
my  son,  as  to  the  aforesaid   and  then"  heirs,  every  one  of  them,  to  be  fulfilled 
by  them;  and  failing  to  do  so  they  are  to  be  deprived  of  the  succession,  for 
not   having  complied  with  what  shall  herein  be  expressed,  and  the  estate  co 
pass  to  the  person  most  nearly  related  to  the  one  who  held  the  right;  and  the 
person  thus  succeeding  shall  in  like  manner  forfeit  the  estate,  should  he  also 
fail  to  comply  with   said   conditions;  and  another  person,  the  nearest  of  my 
lineage,    shall   succeed,    provided    he  abide  by  them,  so    that  they    may  be 
observed  forever  in  the  form  prescribed.     This  forfeiture  is  not  to  be  incurred 
for  trifling  matters,  originating  in  lawsuits,  but  in  important  cases,  when  the 
glory  of  God,  or   my   own,  or  that  of  my   family  may  be  concerned,  which 
supposes  a  perfect   fulfilment  of    all  the  things  hereby  ordained ;   all  which  1 
recommend  to  the  courts  of  justice.     Antl  I  supplicate  His  holiness,  who  now 
is,  and   those  that  may  succeed  in   the  Holy  Church,  that  if  it  should  happen 
that    this   my  will   and    testament  has    need  of   his  holy  order  and  command 
for    its  fulfilment,    that    such    order   be  issued  in  virtue  of    obedience   and 
untler    penalty  of   excommunication,  and    that   it  shall    not   be  in  any  wise 
disfigured.     And    1    also    pray    the    king   and    queen,   our   sovereigns,    and 
their    eldest    born,    Prmce     Don    Juan,    our     lord,    and    their     successors, 
for    the   sake   of   the  services  I   have   done    them,    and    because   it   is   just, 
that    it    may    please  them    not    to   permit  this   my  will   and  constitution  of 
my  entailed   estate  to  be  anyway  altered,  but  to  leave  it  in  the  form  and 
manner  which  I  have  ordained,  forever,  for  the  greater  glory  of  the  Almighty, 
and  that  it  may  be  the  root  and  basis  of  my  lineage,  and  a  memento  of  the 
services  I  have  rendered  their  highnesses;  that,  being  born  in  Genoa,  I  came 
over  to  serve  them  in  Castile,  and  discovered  to  the  west  of  Ten  a  Firma  the 
Indies  and  islands  before  mentionetl.     I  accordingly  pray  their  highnesses  to 
order  that  this  my  privilege  and  testament  be  held  valid,  and  be  executed  sum- 
marily and  without  any  opposition  or  tlemur,  according  to  the  letter.      I  also 
pray  the  grandees  of  the  realm  and  the  lords  of  the  council,  and  all  others 
having  the  administration  of  justice,  to  be  pleased  not  to  suffer  this  my  will 
and   testament  to  be  of  no  avail,  but  to  cause  it  to   be   fulfilled  as  by  me 
ordained;  it  being  just  that  a  noble,  who  has  served  the  king  and  queen  anvi 
the  kingdom,  should  be  respected  in  the  disposition  of  his  estate  b)'  will,  testa- 
ment, institution  of  entail  or  inheritance,  and   that  the  same  be  not  infringed 
either  in  whole  or  in  jiart. 

In  the  first  place,  my  son  Don  Diego,  and  all  my  successors  and  descend- 
ants, as  well  as  my  brothers  Bartholomew  and  Diego,  shall  bear  my  arms, 
such  as  I  shall  leave  them  after  my  days,  without  inserting  anything  else  in 


44 


TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 


COLUMBUS     COAT   OF   ARMS. 


tliem ;  and  they  shall  be  their  seal  to  seal 
withal.  Don  Diego  my  son,  or  any  other 
who  may  inherit  this  estate,  or  coming  into 
jjossession  of  the  inheritance,  shall  sign  with 
the  signature  which  I  now  make  use  of, 
which  is  an  X  with  an  S  over  it,  and  an  M 
with  a  Roman  A  over  it,  and  over  that  an  S, 
and  then  a  Greek  Y,with  an  S  over  it,  with 
its  lines  and  points  as  is  my  custom,  as  tnay 
he  seen  by  my  signatures,  of  which  there 
are  many,  and  it  will  be  seen  by  the  pre- 
sent one. 

He  shall  only  write  "the  admiral," 
whatever  other  titles  the  king  may  have  con- 
ferred on  him.  This  is  to  be  understood  as 
respects  his  signature,  but  not  the  enumera- 
tion of  his  titles,  which  he  can  make  at  full 
length  if  agreeable;  only  the  signature  is  to 
be  "the  admiral." 

The  said  Don  Diego,  or  anj-  other  in- 
heritor of  this  estate,  shall  possess  my  offices  of  admiral  of  the  ocean,  which 
is  to  the  west  of  an  imaginary  line,  which  his  highness  ordered  to  be  drawn, 
running  from  pole  to  pole  a  hundred  leagues  beyond  the  Azores,  and  as  many 
more  beyond  the  Cape  de  Verd  islands,  over  which  I  was  made,  by  their 
order,  their  admiral  of  the  sea,  with  all  the  preeminences  held  by  Don  Hen- 
rique in  the  admiralty  of  Castile,  and  they  made  me  their  governor  and  vice- 
roy perpetually  and  forever  over  all  the  islands  and  mainland  discovered,  or 
to  be  discovered,  for  myself  and  heirs,  as  is  more  fully  shown  by  my  treaty 
and  privilege  as  above  mentioned. 

Item:  The  said  Diego,  or  any  other  inheritor  of  this  estate,  shall  dis- 
tribute the  revenue  which  it  may  please  our  Lord  to  grant  him  in  the  follow, 
ing  manner,  under  the  above  penalty: — 

First:  Of  the  whole  income  of  this  estate,  now  and  at  all  times,  and  of 
whatever  may  be  had  or  collected  from  it,  he  shall  give  the  fourth  part  annu- 
ally to  my  brother,  Don  Bartholomew  Columbus,  Adelantado  of  the  Indies; 
and  this  is  to  continue  until  he  shall  have  acquired  an  income  of  a  million  of 
maravadises  for  his  support,  and  for  the  services  he  has  rendered  and  will 
continue  to  render  to  this  entailed  estate;  which  million  he  is  to  receive  as 
stated,  every  year,  if  the  said  fourth  amount  to  so  much,  and  that  he  have 
nothing  else;  but  if  he  possess  a  part  or  the  whole  of  that  amount  in  rents, 
that  thenceforth  he  shall  not  enjoy  the  said  million,  nor  any  part  of  it,  except 
that  he  shall  have  in  the  said  fourth  part  unto  the  said  quantity  of  a  million, 
if  it  should  amount  to  so  much,  and  as  much  as  he  shall  have  of  revenue 
beside  this  fourth  part,  whatever  sum  of  maravadises  of  known  rent  from 
property  or  perpetual  offices,  the  said  quantity  of  rent  or  revenues  from 
property  or  offices  shall  be  discounted,  and  from  the  said  million  shall  be 
reserved  whatever  marriage  portion  he  may  receive  with  any  female  he  may 
espouse ;  so  that,  whatever  he  may  receive  in  marriage  with  his  wife,  no 
deduction  shall  be  made  on  that  account  from  said  million,  but  only  for  what- 
ever he  may  acquire,  or  may  have,  over  and  above  his  wife's  dowry ;  and 
when  it  shall  please  God,  that  he  or  his  heirs  and  descendants  shall  derive 
from  their  property  and  offices  a  revenue  of  a  million  arising  from  rents, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


45 


neither  he  nor  his  heirs  shall  enjoy  any  longer  any  thing  from  the  said  fourth 
part  of  the  entailed  estate,  which  shall  remain  with  Don  Diego,  or  whoever 
may  inherit  it. 

Item:  From  the  revenues  of  the  said  estate,  or  from  any  other  fourth 
part  of  it,  (should  its  amount  be  adequate  to  it)  siiall  be  paid  every  year  to 
my  son  Ferdinand  two  millions,  till  such  time  as  his  revenue  shall  amount  to 
two  millions,  in  the  same  form  and  manner  as  in  the  case  of  Bartholomew, 
who,  as  well  as  his  heirs,  are  to  have  the  million,  or  the  part  that  may  be 
wanting. 

Item:  The  said  Don  Diego,  or  Don  Bartholomew  shall  make  out  of 
the  said  estate,  for  my  brother  Diego,  such  provision  as  may  enable  him  to 
live  decently,  as  he  is  my  brother,  to  whom  I  assign  no  particular  sum,  as  he 
has  attached  himself  to  the  Church,  and  that  will  be  given  him  which  is 
right,  and  this  to  be  given  him  in  a  mass,  and  before  any  thing  shall  have 
been  received  by  Ferdinand  my  son,  or  Bartholomew  my  brother,  or  their 
heirs,  and  also  according  to  the  amount  of  the  income  of  the  estate.  And 
in  case  of  discord,  the  case  is  to  be  referred  to  two  of  our  relations,  or  other 
men  of  honor;  and  should  they  disagree  among  themselves,  they  will  choose 
a  third  person  as  arbitrator,  being  virtuous  and  not  distrusted  by  either  party. 

Item:  All  this  revenue  which  I  bequeath  to  Bartholoinew,  to  Ferdi- 
nand, and  to  Diego,  shall  be  delivered  to,  and  received  by  them  as  prescribed 
under  the  obligation  of  being  faithful  and  loyal  to  Diego,  my  son  or  his 
heirs,  they  as  well  as  their  children;  and  should  it  appear  that  they,  or 
any  of  them,  had  proceeded  against  him  in  anything  touching  his  honor,  or 
the  prosperity  of  the  family,  or  of  the  estate,  either  in  word  or  deed,  whereby 
might  come  a  scandal  and  debasement  to  my  family  and  a  detriment  to  my 
estate,  in  that  case  nothing  further  shall  be  given  to  them  or  him  from  that 
time  forward,  inasmuch  as  they  are  always  to  be  faithful  to  Diego  and  to 
his  successors. 

Item:  As  it  was  my  intention,  when  I  first  instituted  this  entailed  estate 
to  dispose,  or  that  my  son  Diego  should  dispose  for  me,  of  the  tenth  part  of 
the  income  in  favor  of  necessitous  persons,  as  a  tithe,  and  !n  commemoration 
of  the  almighty  and  eternal  God,  and  persisting  still  in  this  opinion,  and 
hoping  that  his  high  Majesty  will  assist  me,  and  those  who  may  inherit  it,  in 
this  or  the  new  world,  I  have  resolved  that  the  said  tithe  shall  be  paid  in  the 
manner  following; — 

First:  It  is  to  be  understood  that  the  fourth  part  of  the  revenue  of  the 
estate  which  I  have  ordained  and  directed  to  be  given  to  Don  Bartholomew, 
till  he  have  an  income  of  one  million,  includes  the  tenth  of  the  whole 
revenue  of  the  estate;  and  that  as  in  proportion  as  the  income  of  my  brother 
Don  Bartholomew  shall  increase,  as  it  has  to  be  discounted  from  the  revenue 
of  the  fourth  part  of  the  entailed  estate,  that  the  said  revenue  shall  be  calcu- 
lated, to  ivnow  how  much  the  tenth  part  amounts  to;  and  the  part  which 
exceeds  what  is  necessary  to  make  up  the  million  for  Don  Bartholomew  shall 
be  received  by  sucii  of  my  family  as  may  most  stand  in  need  of  it,  discount- 
ing it  from  said  tenth,  if  their  income  do  not  amount  to  fifty  thousand  mara- 
vadises;  and  should  any  of  these  come  to  have  an  income  of  such  amount, 
such  a  part  shall  be  awarded  them,  as  two  persons  chosen  for  the  purpose, 
may  determine  along  with  Don  Diego,  or  his  heirs.  Thus  it  is  to  be  under- 
stood that  the  million  which  I  leave  to  Don  Bartholomew,  comprehends  the 
tenth  of  the  whole  revenue  of  the  estate,  which  revenue  is  to  be  distributed 
among  my  nearest  and  most  needy  relations  m  the  manner  I  have  directed 


46  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

and  when  Don  Bartholomew  has  an  income  of  one  million,  and  that  nothing 
more  shall  be  due  to  him  on  account  of  said  fourth  part,  then  Uon  Diego,  my 
son,  or  the  person  who  may  be  in  possession  of  the  estate,  along  with  the  two 
other  persons  which  I  shall  herein  point  out,  shall  inspect  the  accounts,  and 
so  direct  that  the  tenth  of  the  revenue  shall  still  continue  to  be  paid  to  the 
most  necessitous  members  of  my  family  that  may  be  found  in  this  or  any 
other  quarter  of  the  world,  who  shall  be  diligently  sought  out,  and  they  are 
to  be  paid  out  of  the  fourth  part  from  which  Don  Bartholomew  is  to  derive 
his  million;  which  sums  are  to  be  taken  into  account,  and  deducted  from  the 
said  tenth,  which  shoulil  it  amount  to  more,  the  overplus,  as  it  arises  from  the 
fourth  part,  shall  be  given  to  the  most  necessitous  person  as  aforesaid;  and 
should  it  not  be  sufficient,  that  Don  Bartholomew  shall  have  it  until  his  own 
estate  goes  on  increasing,  leaving  the  said  million  in  part  or  in  the  whole. 

Item:  The  said  Don  Diego  my  son,  or  whoever  may  be  the  inheritor, 
shall  appoint  two  persons  of  conscience  and  authority,  and  most  nearly 
related  to  the  family,  who  are  to  examine  the  revenue  and  its  amount  care- 
fully, and  to  cause  the  said  tenth  to  be  paid  out  of  the  fourth  from  which 
Don  Bartholomew  is  to  receive  his  million,  to  the  most  necessitated  members 
of  my  family  that  may  be  found  here  or  elsewhere,  whom  they  shall  look 
for  diligently  upoTi  their  consciences;  and  as  it  might  happen  that  said  Don 
Diego,  or  others  after  him,  for  reasons  which  may  concern  their  own  welfare 
or  the  credit  and  support  of  the  estate,  may  be  unwilling  to  make  known 
the  full  amount  of  the  income,  nevertheless  I  charge  him,  on  his  conscience, 
to  pay  the  sum  aforesaid;  and  I  charge  them,  on  their  souls  and  consciences, 
not  to  denounce  or  make  it  known,  except  with  the  consent  of  Don  Diego, 
or  the  person  that  may  succeed  him;  but  let  the  above  tithe  be  paid  in  the 
manner  I  have  directed. 

Item:  In  order  to  avoid  all  disputes  in  the  choice  of  the  two  nearest 
relations  who  are  to  act  with  Don  Diego  or  his  heirs,  I  herebj'  elect  Don 
Bartholomew  my  brother  for  one,  and  Don  Fernando  my  son  for  the  other ; 
and  when  these  two  shall  enter  upon  the  business,  they  shall  choose  two 
other  persons  among  the  most  trusty  and  most  nearly  related,  and  these 
again  shall  elect  two  others  when  it  shall  be  question  of  commencing  the 
examination;  and  thus  it  shall  be  managed  with  diligence  from  one  to  the 
other,  as  well  in  this,  as  in  the  other  of  government,  for  the  service  and 
glory  of  God,  and  the  benefit  of  the  said  entailed  estate. 

Item:  I  also  enjoin  Diego,  or  any  one  that  may  inherit  the  estate,  to 
have  and  maintain  in  the  city  of  Genoa  one  person  of  our  lineage  to  reside 
there  with  his  wife,  and  appoint  him  a  sufficient  revenue  to  enable  him  to 
live  decently,  as  a  person  closely  connected  with  the  family,  of  which  he  is 
to  be  the  root  and  basis  in  that  city,  from  which  great  good  may  accrue  to 
him,  inasmuch  as  I  was  born  there  and  came  from  thence. 

Item:  The  said  Don  Diego,  or  whoever  shall  inherit  the  estate,  must 
remit  in  bills,  or  in  any  other  way,  all  such  sums  as  he  may  be  able  to  save 
out  of  the  revenue  of  the  estate,  and  direct  purchases  to  be  made  in  his  name, 
or  that  of  his  heirs,  in  a  stock  in  the  bank  of  St.  George,  which  gives  an 
interest  of  six  per  cent,  and  in  secure  money;  and  this  shall  be  devoted  to  the 
purpose  I  am  about  to  explain. 

Item:  As  it  becomes  every  man  of  property  to  serve  God,  either  per- 
sonally or  by  means  of  his  wealth,  and  as  all  moneys  deposited  with  St. 
George  are  quite  safe,  and  Genoa  is  a  noble  city  and  powerful  by  sea,  and  as 
at  the  time  that  I  undertook   to   set  out  upon  the  discovery  of  the  Indies,  it 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


47 


was  with  the  intention  of  supplicating  the  king  and  queen,  our  lords,  tliat 
whatever  moneys  should  he  derived  from  the  said  Indies  should  be  invested 
in  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem,  and  as  I  did  so  supplicate  them,  if  they  do  this, 
it  will  be  well;  if  not,  at  all  events  the  said  Diego,  or  such  person  as  may 
succeed  him  in  this  trust,  to  collect  together  all  the  money  he  can  and  accom- 
pany the  king,  our  lord,  should  he  go  to  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem,  or  else 
go  there  himself  with  all  the  force  he  can  command;  and  in  pursuing  this 
intention  it  will  please  the  Lord  to  assist  towards  the  accomplishment  of  the 
plan;  and  should  he  not  be  able  to  effect  the  conquest  of  the  whole,  no  doubt 
he  will  achieve  it  in  part.  Let  him  therefore  collect  and  make  a  fund  of  all 
his  wealth  in  St.  George,  of  Genoa,  and  let  it  multiply  there  till  such  time  as 
it  may  appear  to  him  that  something  of  consequence  may  be  effected  as 
respects  the  project  on  Jerusalem,  for  I  believe  that,  when  their  highnesses 
shall  see  that  this  is  contemplated,  they  will  wish  to  realize  it  themselves,  or 
will  afford  him,  as  their  servant  and  vassal,  the  means  of  doing  it  for  them. 

Item:  I  charge  my  son  Diego  and  my  descendants,  especially  whoever 
may  inherit  this  estate,  which  consists,  as  aforesaid,  of  the  tenth  of  whatso- 
ever may  be  had  or  found  in  the  Indies,  and  the  eighth  part  of  the  lands  and 
rents,  all  which,  together  with  my  rights  and  emoluments  as  admiral, 
Viceroy  and  governor  amount  to  more  than  35  per  cent, — I  say  that  I 
require  of  hnn  to  employ  all  this  revenue,  as  well  as  his  person  and  all  the 
means  in  his  power,  in  well  and  faithfully  serving  and  supporting  their  high- 
nesses, or  their  successors,  even  to  the  loss  of  life  and  property ;  since  it  was 
their  highnesses,  next  to  God,  who  first  gave  me  the  means  of  getting  and 
achieving  this  propcrtj- ;  although  it  is  true  I  came  over  to  these  realms  to 
invite  them  to  the  enterprise,  and  that  a  long  time  elapsed  before  any  pro- 
vision was  made  for  carrying  it  into  execution;  which,  however,  is  not  sur- 
prising, as  this  was  an  undertaking  of  which  all  the  world  was  ignorant,  and 
no  one  had  any  faith  in  it ;  wherefore  I  am  by  so  much  the  more  indebted 
to  them,  as  well  as  because  they  have  since  also  much  favored  and 
promoted  me. 

Item:  I  also  require  of  Diego,  or  whomsoever  may  be  in  possession  of 
the  estate,  that  in  the  case  of  any  schism  takmg  place  in  the  Church  of  God, 
or  that  any  person  of  whatever  class  or  condition  should  attempt  to  despoil 
it  of  its  property  and  honors,  they  hasten  to  offer  at  the  feet  of  his  hohness, 
that  is,  if  they  are  not  heretics  (which  God  forbid  I )  their  persons,  power  and 
wealth  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing  such  schism  and  preventing  any 
spoliation  of  the  honor  and  property  of  the  church. 

Item:  I  command  the  said  Diego,  or  whoever  may  possess  the  said 
estate,  to  labor  and  strive  for  the  honor,  welfare,  and  aggrandizement  of  the 
city  of  Genoa,  and  to  make  use  of  all  bis  power  and  means  in  defending  and 
enhancing  the  good  and  credit  of  that  republic  in  all  things  not  contrary  to 
the  service  of  the  church  of  God,  or  the  high  dignity  of  our  king  and  queen, 
our  lords,  and  their  successors. 

Item;  The  said  Diego,  or  whoever  may  possess  or  succeed  to  the 
estate,  out  of  the  fourth  part  of  the  whole  revenue,  from  which,  as  aforesaid, 
is  to  be  taken  the  tenth,  when  Don  Bartholomew  or  his  heirs  shall  have 
saved  the  two  millions,  or  part  of  them,  and  when  the  time  shall  come  of 
making  a  tlistribution  among  our  relations,  shall  ajsply  and  in^•est  the  said 
tentli  in  providing  marriages  for  such  daughters  of  our  lineage  as  may 
require  it,  and  in  doing  all  the  good  in  their  power. 


48  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  01-   THE 

Item:  When  a  suitable  time  shall  arrive,  he  shall  order  a  church  to  be 
built  in  the  island  of  Hispaiiiola,  and  in  the  most  convenient  spot,  to  be  called 
Santa  Maria  de  la  Conccpcion;  to  which  is  to  be  annexed  a  hospital,  upon 
the  best  possible  plan,  like  those  of  Italy  and  Castile,  and  a  chapel  erected  to 
say  Mass  in  for  the  good  of  my  soul,  and  those  of  my  ancestors  and  successors 
with  great  devotion,  since  no  doubt  it  will  please  the  Lord  to  give  us  a 
sufficient  revenue  for  this  and  the  aforementioned  purposes. 

Item:  I  also  order  Diego  my  son,  or  whomsoever  may  inherit  after  him, 
to  spare  no  pains  in  having  and  maintaining  in  the  Island  of  Hispaniola  four 
good  professors  of  theology,  to  the  end  and  aim  of  their  studying  and  laboring 
to  convert  to  our  holy  faith  the  inhabitants  of  the  Indies;  and  in  proportion 
as,  by  God's  will,  the  revenue  of  the  estate  shall  increase,  in  the  same  degree 
shall  the  number  of  teachers  and  devout  increase,  who  are  to  strive  to  make 
Christians  of  the  natives;  in  attaining  which,  no  expense  should  be  thought 
too  great.  And  in  commemoration  of  all  that  I  hereby  ordain,  and  of  the 
foregoing,  a  monument  of  marble  shall  be  erected  in  the  said  church  of  La 
Concepcion,  in  the  most  conspicuous  place,  to  serve  as  a  record  of  what  I 
here  enjoin  on  the  said  Diego,  as  well  as  to  other  persons  who  may  look  upon 
it;  which  marble  shall  contain  an  inscription  to  the  same  effect. 

Item:  I  also  require  of  Diego  my  son,  and  whomsoever  may  succeed  him 
in  the  estate,  that  every  time,  and  as  often  as  he  confesses,  he  first  show  this 
obligation,  or  a  copy  of  it,  to  the  confessor,  praying  him  to  read  it  through, 
that  he  may  be  enabled  to  inquire  respecting  its  fulfillment;  from  which  will 
redound  great  good  and  hapjoiness  to  his  soul. 

S. 
S.    A.     S. 
X.    M.   Y. 
EL    ALMIRANTE. 

The  name,  as  subscribed,  is  in  the  anagrammatic  form,  in  which  according 
to  the  custom  of  his  age,  the  admiral  gave  his  signature.  The  abbreviations 
signify — "  C/iristus,  Sancta  Maria,  Tosephtts,  or  Salve  mc,  Xristus,  Mario, 
Yosephus  P 

Can  we  wonder,  after  perusing  this  testament,  that  the  Catholic  heart  of 
America  pays  tribute  to  the  memory  of  its  saintly  discoverer?  Can  we 
wonder,  in  this  fourth  centennial,  that  the  most  eloquent  outpourings  of  its 
affection  are  laid  as  flowers  before  his  tomb?  Witness  this  lesson  from  his 
life  by  the  gifted  poet  and  historian,  Professor  Maurice  F.  Egan,  now  of  the 
Catholic  University  at  Washington. 

Colnmbws,  tlje  ttlorlb-CSioBr. 

Who  doubts  has  met  defeat  ere  blows  can  fall, 

Who  doubts  must  die  with  no  palm  in  his  hand, 
Who  doubts  shall  never  be  of  that  high  band 

Which  clearlv  answers  Present!  to  Death's  call; 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  49 

For  Faith  is  life,  and,  tiiough  a  funeral  pall 

Veil  our  fair  Hope,  and  on  our  promised  land 
A  mist  malignant  hang,  if  Faith  but  stand 

Among  our  ruins,  we  shall  conquer  all. 

O  faithful  soul!  that  knew  no  doubting  low, 

O  Faith  incarnate,  lit  by  Hope's  strong  flame, 
And  led  by  Faith's  own  cross  to  dare  all  ill 

And  find  our  world! — but  more  than  this  we  owe 

To  thy  true  heart;  thy  pure  and  glorious  r  .me 
Is  one  clear  trumpet-call  to  Faith  and  Will. 

And  again,  read  this  glowing  memento  from  the  pen  of  Rt.  Rev.  John  L. 
Spalding,  the  illustrious  bishop  of  Peoria,  Illinois,  whose  brilliant  literary  emi- 
nence IS  only  surpassed  by  his  zeal  and  piety  as  a  shepherd  of  the  Catholic  fold : 

(Kolmnbus. 
I. 

"  My  men  and  brothers,  westward  lies  our  way  :" 

So  spoke  Columbus,  looking  on  the  sea 

Which  stretched  before  him  to  infinity; 
And  while  he  sailed  he  wrote  these  words  each  day. 

As  though,  "  West  lies  thy  course,"  he  heard  God  say. 
With  promise  of  the  blessings  which  should  be 
When  a  New  World  had  borne  young  Liberty, 

As  fair  and  fresh  as  flowers  in  month  of  May. 

O  God-appointed  man!  all  hail  to  thee! 

Thou  other  Moses  of  a  chosen  race, 
Who  out  of  darkness  and  captivity 

Leadest  the  people  from  the  tyrant's  face 
To  where  all  men  shall  equal  be  and  free, 

And  evil  life  alone  shall  be  disgrace. 

II. 

Sail  on,  Columbus!  sail  right  onward  still. 

O'er  watery  waste  of  trackless  billows  sail, 
Nor  let  a  doubting  race  make  thy  heart  fail 

Till  a  new  world  upglow  beneath  thy  will. 

Let  storms  break  forth  and  driving  winds  be  shrill. 
But  be  thou  steadfast  when  all  others  quail, 
Still  looking  westward  till  the  night  grow  pale. 

And  the  long  dreamedof  land  thy  glad  eyes  fill. 

Sailor,  still  onward  sail!     God  leads  the  way 

Across  the  gloomy,  fathomless  dark  sea, 
Of  man  unvisited  until  thy  day, 

But  which  henceforth  for  the  whole  world  shall  be 
The  road  to  nobler  life  and  wider  sway, 

Where  tyrants  perish  and  all  men  are  free. 


Cbapten  III. 


Famous  $panisb  Expiottcrs. 


ALONZO  DK  OjEDA.— Fierce  American  Natives. — Proclaiming  tue  True  Faith. 
Death  ok  an  Aged  Pilot.— The  Commander's  Gallantry.  —  Shipwrecked 
ON  Cuhan  Shores. —The  Fatal  March. — The  Indians  of  Comagre.— 
Balboa's  Rash  Expedition.— Joy  on  Discovering  the  Pacific.  —  Poncb  de 
Leon  and  the  Fountain  ok  Youth. — A  Warrior's  Death   and  Epitaph. 


,ME  success  of  Christopher  Coluinbus  aroused  not  only  Spain,  but 
all  Europe,  to  a  fever  of  oceanic  enterprise.  In  this  new  career 
France  may  dispute  the  second  place  with  Portugal,  England 
comes  next,  Holland  and  Sweden  last. 

The  captains  under  all  these  powers  were  Catholics;  the  observ- 
ances and  spirit  of  each  expedition  were  Catholic;  the  forms  used 
by  other  nations  in  taking  possession  or  in  founding  colonies  were  copied 
after  those  of  Spain,  and  of  course  were  Catholic.  These  grateful  facts  may 
be  illustrated  by  some  notice  of  the  chief  discoverers,  usually  called  the 
"successors  of  Columbus,"  before  we  enter  on  the  great  theme  of  that 
Catholic  missionary  work  to  which  they  all  served  as  pioneers. 

The  Spaniards  themselves  were  the  first  to  follow  on  in  the  path  of  dis- 
covery and  exploration.    Among  the  companions  of  Columbus  on  his  second 

50 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  5 1 

voy<ige  iiiciitioii  li;is  already  l)ecn  made  of  Alonzo  de  Oj^da.  At  that  time 
he  is  described  as  a  dashing  young  cavaher,  Iiandsome  in  person,  rather 
under  the  middle  height,  but  well-formed,  and  of  great  strength  and  activity. 
He  was  a  master  of  the  art  of  war,  an  admirable  horseman,  and  unmatched 
in  the  use  of  all  kinds  of  weapons.  "  Bold  of  heart,"  says  Irving,  "  free  of 
spirit,  open  of  hand,  fierce  in  fight,  quick  in  quarrel,  but  ever  ready  to  forget 
and  forgive  an  injury,  he  was  destined,  for  a  long  time,  to  be  the  admiration 
of  the  wild  and  rovmg  youth  who  flocked  to  the  New  World.'' 

Before  his  departure  from  Spain,  Ojdda  had  been  introduced  to  Bishop 
Fonseca,  and  the  prelate  made  him  a  gift  of  a  little  Flemish  painting  of  the 
most  Holy  Virgin.  In  all  his  wanderings  the  devout  young  soldier  carried 
this  picture  about  him,  and  it  rises  to  fame  in  the  story  of  his  adventures. 

Columbus  gave  the  command  of  all  perilous  enterprises  to  Ojeda — 
\v'hether  it  was  the  work  of  exploring  the  unknown  interior  of  Hispaniola, 
or  the  still  weightier  responsibility  of  holding  an  exposed  position  against 
the  hostile  savages.  Nor  could  the  work  have  been  placed  in  braver  hands, 
and  his  tact  was  such  that  where  he  failed  no  man  might  hope  to  succeed. 

The  accomplished  cavalier  was  appointed  commander  of  Fort  St. 
Tiiomas,  and  his  skill  and  intrepidity  were  tested  in  many  an  enterprise  by  the 
great  admiral.  In  1496  he  sailed  back  to  Spain  in  company  with  Columb-is, 
and  shortly  afterward  was  placed  in  command  of  an  independent  squadron 
of  four  vessels.  This  expedition  was  as  full  of  strife  and  danger  as  of 
achievements,  and  was  succeeded  by  others  until,  November  10,  1509,  Alon/.o 
set  sail  from  San  Domingo  with  two  ships,  two  brigantines  and  thiee 
hundred  men,  among  those  aboard  being  the  old  pilot,  John  de  la  Cosa,  and 
Francis  Pizarro,  afterwards  the  conqueror  of  Peru.  Ojeda's  expedition  soon 
reached  the  harbor  of  Carthagena,  at  present  a  city  and  seaport  of  New 
Grenada,  in  South  America.  De  la  Cosa  had  been  there  on  a  previous  voyage, 
and  he  advised  his  chief  of  the  warlike  disposition  of  tiie  natives.  They 
fought  with  palm  swords,  he  said,  and  tipped  their  arrows  in  a  deadly  poison. 

Ojdda,  accompanied  by  De  la  Cosa,  some  priests,  and  a  part  of  his  force, 
landed.  A  crowd  of  savages  had  gathered,  and  he  advanced  to  meet  them. 
He  then  ordered  one  of  the  missionaries  to  read  the  solemn  formula  which 
had  been  prepared  for  such  an  occasion.     It  began: 

"  I,  Alonzo  de  Ojdda,  servant  of  the  high  and  mighty  kings  of  Castile 
and  Leon,  civilizers  of  barbarous  nations,  their  messenger  and  captain,  notify 
and  make  known  to  you,  in  the  best  way  I  can,  that  God  our  Lord,  One  and 


52  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

Eternal,  created  tlic  Heavens  and  the  earth,  and  one  man  and  one  woman, 
from  whom  you  and  we,  and  all  the  people  of  the  earth,  were  and  are 
descended,  procreated,  and  all  those  who  shall  come  after  us;  but  the  vast 
number  of  generations,  which  have  proceeded  from  them  in  the  course  of 
more  than  5,000  years  that  have  elapsed  since  the  creation  of  the  world, 
made  it  necessary  that  some  of  the  human  race  should  disperse  in  one 
direction,  and  some  in  another,  and  that  they  should  divide  themselves  into 
many  kingdoms  and  provinces,  as  they  could  not  sustain  and  preserve  them- 
selves in  one  alone. 

"All  these  peoples  were  given  in  charge,  by  God  our  Lord,  to  one 
person,  named  St.  Peter,  who  was  thus  made  lord  and  superior  of  all  the 
people  of  the  earth,  and  head  of  the  whole  human  lineage;  whom  all  should 
obey,  wherever  they  might  live,  and  whatever  might  be  their  law,  sect  or 
belief.  He  gave  him  also  the  whole  world  for  his  service  and  jurisdiction; 
and  though  he  desired  that  he  should  establish  his  chair  in  Rome,  as  a  place 
most  convenient  for  governing  the  world,  yet  he  permitted  that  he  might 
establish  his  chair  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  and  judge  and  govern  all 
nations — Christians,  Moors,  Jews,  Gentiles,  and  whatever  other  sect  or  belief 
might  be.  This  person  was  denominated  Pope,  that  is  to  say.  Admirable, 
Supreme  Father  and  Guardian,  because  he  is  the  father  and  governor  of  all 
mankind.  This  Holy  Father  was  obeyed  and  honored  as  lord,  king,  and 
superior  of  the  universe  by  those  who  lived  in  his  time,  and  in  like  manner 
h.-ive  been  obeyed  and  honored  all  those  who  have  been  elected  to  the  pontifi- 
cate; and  thus  it  has  continued  to  the  present  day,  and  will  continue  until  the 
end  of  the  world     .     .     ." 

The  pious  manifesto  then  calls  on  the  savages  to  render  obedience  to 
the  Spanish  sovereigns,  to  take  time  to  consider  the  truths  of  the  Catholic 
faith,  and  to  embrace  them;  and,  finally,  thrfeatens  them  with  severe  punish- 
ment in  case  of  obstinate  refusal. 

When  the  priest  had  finished  reading  this  document,  Ojeda  made  signs 
of  friendship,  and  held  up  presents.  The  fierce,  dusky  warriors,  however, 
were  not  to  be  thus  easily  won.  Assuming  a  sullen  air,  they  loudly  sounded 
the  note  of  battle.  The  commander's  fiery  nature  was  in  a  moment  aroused. 
De  la  Cosa  saw  this,  and  entreated  his  chief  to  abandon  a  hostile  shore,  whose 
wild  inhabitants  fought  like  poisonous  reptiles.  But  in  vain  was  the  wise 
advice  of  the  faithful  old  pilot. 

Oj(ida  hastily  breathed  a  prayer  to  his  Heavenly  Patroness,  brandished 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  53 

his  sword,  and  rushed  on  the  savages.  The  brave  De  la  Cosa  and  others 
followed.  In  a  few  minutes  the  rout  was  complete.  Nor  was  this  all. 
Ojeda  pursued  the  flying  Indians  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  into  the  interior, 
in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  his,  more  prudent  lieutenant,  who  never  left 
his  side.  At  last,  they  came  to  a  stronghold  of  the  enemy.  It  was  in  a 
dense  wood.  With  the  old  Castilian  war-cry  of  "Sanjago!"  on  his  lips, 
Ojdda  led  his  men,  and  charged  furiously  on  the  entrenched  Indians.  The 
savages  fled  in  terror,  and  the  rash  pursuit  was  continued.  Evening  found 
the  Spaniards  in  a  village  whose  inhabitants  had  taken  to  the  neighboring 
mountains.  Carelessly  dividing  into  bands,  they  roved  about  from  house  to 
house,  and  seized  on  everything  of  value.  While  thus  engaged,  an  army 
of  Indians  closed  on  the  scattered  soldiers.  Everywhere  they  were  suddenly 
surrounded.  The  Spaniards  fought  like  lions;  but  overwhelmed  by  num- 
bers, they  fell,  one  by  one,  beneath  the  heavy  war-clubs  and  the  poisoned 
arrows  of  the  enraged  savages. 

On  the  first  alarm,  Oj^da  collected  a  few  soldiers  and  ensconced  himself 
within   a  small  enclosure,  surrounded    by    palisades.  He     was    closely 

besieged  and  galled  by  flights  of  arrows.  He  threw  himself  on  his  knees, 
covered  himself  with  his  buckler,  and,  being  small  and  active,  managed  to 
protect  himself  from  the  deadly  shower,  but  all  his  companions  were  slain 
by  his  side,  sone  of  them  perishing  in  frightful  agonies.  At  this  fearful 
moment  the  veteran  De  la  Cosa,  having  heard  of  the  peril  of  his  commander, 
arrived  with  a  few  followers  to  his  assistance.  Stationing  himself  at  the 
gate  of  the  palisades,  the  brave  old  seaman  kept  the  savages  at  bay,  until 
most  of  his  men  were  slain,  and  he  himself  was  severely  wounded.  Just 
then  Oj^da  sprang  forth  like  a  tiger  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy,  dealing  his 
blows  on  every  side.  De  la  Cosa  would  have  seconded  him,  but  was 
crippled  by  his  wounds.  He  took  refuge  with  the  remnant  of  his  men  in  an 
Indian  cabin,  the  straw  roof  of  which  he  aided  them  to  throw  off,  lest  the 
enemy  set  it  on  fire. 

Here  he  defended  himself  until  all  his  comrades  but  one  were  destroyed. 
The  subtile  poison  of  his  wounds  at  length  overpowered  him,  and  he  sank 
to  the  ground.  Feeling  death  at  hand,  he  called  to  his  only  surviving  com- 
panion. "  Brother,"  said  lie,  "  since  God  has  protected  you  from  harm,  sally 
forth  and  fly,  and  if  ever  you  should  see  Alonzo  de  Oj^da,  tell  him  of  my 
fate!"  Anil  thus  died  the  kind  and  hardy  veteran,  John  de  la  Cosa,  devoted, 
fearless,  faithful  and  unflinching  to  the  last  gasp. 


54  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

The  Spaniards  who  remained  on  the  ships  were  alarmed  at  the  long 
delay  of  their  commander  and  his  detachment  in  the  interior.  Days  passed, 
but  the  absent  appeared  not.  Search  was  then  made,  and  soon  given  up  in 
despair.  One  day,  however,  as  a  party  were  coasting  along,  they  came  to  a 
dense  forest  of  mangrove  trees  that  lined  the  shore.  In  the  distance  seemed 
a  human  figure  lying  on  the  matted  roots.  The  men  drew  near,  and  found 
Ojuda!  He  was  speechless,  but  still  bravely  grasped  his  sword  and  buckler. 
A  fire  was  made,  food  and  wine  given  him,  and  in  a  little  while  the  hero 
recovered.  He  told  his  astonished  hearers  how,  after  he  had  succeeded  in 
cutting  a  passage  through  crowds  of  Indians,  that  he  found  himself  alone  in 
the  savage  wilderness.  He  deplored  his  rashness,  and  his  heart  was  ready  to 
break  when  he  recalled  the  awful  fate  of  his  faithful  followers,  and,  above 
all,  the  intrepid  De  la  Cosa.  He  boldly  pushed  on,  however,  and  struck  the 
coast  line,  which  he  endeavoured  to  follow  in  order  to  reach  the  ships.  But 
his  Hiarvelous  strength  gave  way,  and  at  length  he  fell  half  dead  to  the  earth. 
He  attributed  his  escape  to  the  Immaculate  Virgin;  and  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  it  was  little  short  of  miraculous.  Not  a  scratch  marked  his  person, 
though  "his  buckler  bore  the  dints  of  upwards  of  three  hundred  arrows!" 

The  cavalier  now  hastened  from  the  scene  of  his  misfortunes,  steered 
across  the  Gulf,  and  began  a  settlement  on  the  coast  of  Darien.  He  founded 
a  city  which  he  called  San  Sebastian,  as  he  said  "in  honor  of  the  sainted 
martyr  who  was  slain  by  arrows,  hoping  that  he  might  protect  the  inhabit- 
ants from  the  empoisoned  shafts  of  the  savages."  But  the  colony  did  not 
take  root.  Provisions  grew  scarce.  The  settlers  lost  heart,  and  the  Indians 
daily  grew  bolder,  in  spite  of  the  fearful  punishments  again  and  again 
inflicted  on  them  by  Ojcda,  who  "  slew  more  of  their  warriors  with  his  single 
arm  than  all  his  followers  together." 

In  the  midst  of  this  gloomy  state  of  affairs,  a  strange  ship  appeared  in 
the  harbor  of  San  Sebastian;  and  Ojeda  decided  to  board  her,  and  seek  aid 
for  his  struggling  colony.  He  left  Francis  Pizarro  in  command,  and  sailed 
for  San  Domingo.  The  ship  was  wrecked  on  the  southern  coast  of  Cuba. 
It  was  a  sad  misfortune.  The  poor  castaways  were  hundreds  of  miles  from 
any  Christian  settlement,  and  their  only  course  was  to  cut  a  pathway  through 
the  swamps,  rivers,  and  tangled  forests  of  Cuba,  and  then  to  cross  the  wide 
strait  that  separates  it  from  Hispaniola. 

Ojeda  led  the  dreary  march,  and  daily  infused  some  of  his  own  hardy 
spirit  into  the  famished  and  exhausted  travellers.      At  one  point,  a  swamp 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


55 


ninety  miles  in  extent  seemed  to  bar  all  further  progress.  Ojeda  had  daily 
offered  his  prayer  beore  the  Flemish  painting  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  and  invited 
his  companions  to  do  the  same;  but  now  he  vowed  that  if  his  Heavenly  Pat- 
roness should  conduct  him  safely  through  this  peril,  he  would  erect  a  chapel 
to  her  honor  in  the  first  Indian  village  he  would  reach,  and  leave  her  picture 
there  as  an  object  of  veneration  to  the  dusky  children  of  the  forest,  who 
would  in  time  chant  before  it  in  their  own  rude  speech : 

Mother  dearest,   mother  fairest, 
Virgin   hrightest,   purest,   rarest, 

Lady  mild  and   sweet; 
Hear  the  grateful  songs  we  sing  thee. 
Hear  the  hynuis  we  humbly  bring  thee, 

Bending  at   thy   feet ! 

When  the  sorely  tired  travellers,  still  guided  by  the  iron  figure  of 
Ojeda,  had  cut  their  way  through  the  frightful  morass,  it  was  found  that 
only  thirty-five  out  of  the  seventy  men  who  left  the  ship  sur\-ived.  The 
rest  had  sunk  beneath  the  burden  of  their  miseries.  A  path  led  to  an  Indian 
village.  The  good  old  chief  consoled  the  famished,  toil-worn  Spaniards, 
"and"'  says  Las  Casas,  "almost  worshipped  them  as  if  they  were  angels." 

Ojeda  built  a  chapel,  placed  his  famous  painting  of  the  Holy  ^"irgin 
above  the  altar;  and  after  explaining  the  truths  of  the  Catholic  religion,  he 
com.mitted  it  to  the  care  of  the  chief,  v.-ho  conceived  a  profound  regard  for 
the  beautiful  Madonna.  When  Las  Casas,the  celebrated  missionary, visited 
this  village  at  a  later  period,  he  found  the  little  chapel  preserved  with  the 
most  religious  care  as  a  sacred  place  and  the  picture  of  the  Hoi}-  Virgin 
reo'arded  with  fond  admiration.  The  poor  Indians  crowded  to  attend  Mass, 
which  he  performed  at  the  altar;  they  listened  attentively  to  his  paternal 
instructions,  and  at  his  request  brought  their  children  to  be  baptized.  The 
good  Las  Casas,  having  heard  much  of  this  famous  relic  of  Ojeda,  was 
desirous  of  obtaining  possession  of  it,  and  offered  to  give  the  cacique,  in 
exchange  for  it,  an  image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  which  he  had  brought  with 
him.  The  chief!  ain  made  an  evasive  answer  and  seemed  much  troubled  m 
mind.     The  next  morning  he  failed  to  make  his  appearance. 

The  missionary'  went  to  the  chapel  to  celebrate  Mass,  but  found  the 
altar  stripped  of  its  precious  relic.  On  inquiring  he  learned  that  in  the  night 
the  cacique  had  fled  to  the  woods,  bearing  off  with  him  his  beloved  picture 
of  the  Madonna,  It  was  in  vain  that  Las  Casas  sent  messengers  after  him, 
assuring  him  that  he  should  not  be  deprived  of  the  relic,  but,  on  the  contrary, 


56  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPH'S  OF  THE 

that  the  image  should  also  be  left  with  him  as  a  gift.  The  cacique  refused  to 
come  forth  from  the  dark  recesses  of  the  forest ;  nor  did  lie  return  to  his  village 
and  replace  the  picture  in  the  chapel  until  after  the  departure  of  the  Spaniards. 

To  return  to  Ojoda.  On  reaching  San  Domingo  he  found  himself 
greatly  fallen  in  popular  estimation.  The  ill  success  of  his  colony  was 
received  as  a  bad  omen,  and,  without  friends  or  fortune,  he  could  do  little. 
Poor  health  added  to  the  ruin  already  made  by  poverty  and  hardship.  The 
brilliant  leader  and  discoverer  sank  into  obscurity  and  poverty.  But  his  end 
was  marked  by  the  humble  piety  of  a  brave  Christian  cavalier.  Religion, 
which  in  more  prosperous  days  had  shone  on  his  wild  and  adventurous  path- 
way, still  cheered  his  intrepid  spirit  and  brightened  the  last  hours  of  life. 
Humility  and  true  valor  are  commonly  found  inseparable.  In  expiation  of 
his  past  pride,  Ojeda  requested,  with  dying  lips,  to  be  buried  under  the  portal 
of  the  monastery  of  St.  Francis,  at  San  Domingo,  ''that  every  one  who 
entered  might  tread  upon  his  grave."  And  thus  passed  away  from  this 
world  Alonzo  dc  Ojdda,  the  prottSgd  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the  fearless 
leader  of  many  a  bold  and  desperate  charge,  and  one  of  the  most  dauntless 
men  that  ever  stood  on  the  shores  of  the  New  World. 

It  may  be  remarked  of  Ojeda  that  his  devotion  to  Our  Blessed  Lady, 
and  his  fervent  habit  of  prayer,  never  forsook  him  either  in  the  din  of 
sanguinary  strife  or  the  gloom  of  defeat  and  privation.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  other  Spanish  explorers,  and  afifords  a  good  idea  of  the  intensity 
of  Catholic  sentiment  in  that  race. 

Another  Spanish  discoverer  who  merits  especial  mention  is  Vincent 
Nunez,  also  called  Balboa  from  the  city  of  his  birth.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  he  sailed  for  the  New  World,  and,  after  some  unprofitable  wandering, 
turned  farmer  in  Hispaniola.  But  fortune  refusing  to  smile  on  his  toil,  he  was 
forced  to  escape  from  his  creditors  by  having  himself  smuggled  on  board  a  ves- 
sel bound  for  Panama,  in  1510.  He  was  a  brave  and  worthy  gentleman,  how- 
ever, and  soon  rose  to  leadership  and  distinction  in  the  new  Spanish  settle- 
ments. In  time  he  became  a  commander  in  the  colony  of  Darien,  but  space 
will  not  allow  of  a  record  of  all  his  exploits  and  adventures.  One  incident 
among  the  rest  imperatively  demands  a  place.  On  a  certain  expedition 
the  commander  made  a  friendly  visit  to  the  chief  of  Comagre,  who  must 
have  been  an  important  personage  as  it  is  said  he  could  muster  3,000  war- 
riors in  the  field.  His  dominions  lay  at  the  foot  of  a  lofty  mountain,  in  a 
beautifcil  plain   twelve   leagues   in   extent.     On   the   approach   of   Balboa, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  57 

the  cacique  came  forth  to  meet  him,  attended  by  seven  sons,  all  fine  young 
men.  He  was  followed  by  his  principal  chiefs  and  warriors,  and  by  a  multi- 
tude of  his  people.  The  Spaniards  were  conducted  with  great  ceremony  to 
the  village,  where  quarters  were  assigned  them,  and  they  were  furnished  with 
abundance  of  provisions,  and  men  and  women  were  appointed  to  attend 
upon  them. 

The  dwelling  of  the  cacique  surpassed  any  they  had  yet  seen,  for  mag- 
nitude, and  for  the  skill  and  solidity  of  the  architecture.  It  was  150  paces  in 
length  and  So  in  breadth,  founded  upon  great  logs,  surrounded  with  a  stone 
wall  ;  while  the  upper  part  was  of  woodwork,  curiously  interwoven  and 
wrought  with  such  beauty  as  to  cause  surprise  and  admiration.  It  contained 
many  commodious  apartments.  There  were  store-rooms  also  ;  one  filled 
with  bread,  with  venison,  and  other  provisions  ;  another  with  various  spiritu- 
ous beverages  which  the  Indians  made  from  maize,  from  a  species  of  the 
palm,  and  from  roots  of  different  kinds. 

There  was  also  a  great  hall  in  a  retired  and  secret  part  of  the  bmlding, 
wherein  the  dusky  ruler  preserved  the  bodies  of  his  ancestors  and  relatives. 
These  had  been  dried  by  the  fire,  so  as  to  insure  them  against  decay,  and  affer. 
wards  wrapped  in  mantles  of  cotton,  richly  wrought  and  interwoven  with  pearls 
and  jewels  of  gold,  and  with  certain  stones  held  precious  by  the  natives. 
They  were  then  hung  about  the  hall  with  cords  of  cotton,  and  regarded  with 
great  reverence,  if  not  with  religious  devotion. 

The  chief's  eldest  son  was  distinguished  above  the  rest  by  his  lofty,  gen- 
erous spirit  and  superior  intelligence.  Seeing,  writes  old  Peter  Martyr,  that 
the  Spaniards  were  a  "  wandering  kind  of  men,  living  only  by  shifts  and 
spoils,"  he  sought  to  gain  their  favor  by  gifts  of  the  precious  metal.  He 
presented  Balboa  with  4,000  ounces  of  gold  in  various  forms. 

The  commander  ordered  the  treasure  to  be  weighed,  one-fifth  to  be  set 
apart  for  the  crown,  and  the  rest  to  be  distributed  among  his  followers.  The 
gold  was  weighed  in  the  porch  of  the  chief's  residence,  and  in  presence  of  the 
youthful  donor.  While  this  was  going  on  a  violent  quarrel  arose  among  the 
Spaniards  as  to  the  size  and  value  of  the  pieces  which  fell  to  their  respective 
shares.  The  young  cacique  was  disgusted  on  beholding  such  a  sordid  brawl 
among  beings  whom  he  had  regarded  with  such  reverence.  Seized  by  an 
impulse  of  disdain,  he  struck  the  sca'es  with  his  hand,  and  scattered  the  glit- 
tering gold  about  the  jjorch. 

"  Wh}-,"  he  cxclaimeil,  "do  you  quarrel  about  such  a  trifle?     If  this 


58  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

gold  is,  indeed,  so  precious  in  your  eyes  that  for  it  alone  you  abandon  jour 
homes,  invade  the  peaceful  lands  of  others,  and  expose  yourselves  to  such  suf- 
ferings and  dangers,  I  will  tell  you  of  a  region  where  you  may  gratify  your 
wishes  to  the  utmost.  Beliold  those  lofty  mountains,"  he  continued,  point- 
ing to  the  south,  "beyond  thoe  lies  a  mighty  sea  which  may  be  discerned 
from  their  summit.  It  is  navigated  by  a  people  who  have  vessels  almost  as 
large  as  yours.  The  streams  that  flow  down  to  the  sea  abound  in  gold.  The 
kings  who  rule  on  its  shores  eat  and  drink  out  of  golden  vessels." 

Balboa  inquired  how  this  rich  region  could  be  readied. 

"  The  task,"  replied  the  young  chief,  ''is  both  difhcult  and  dangerous. 
You  must  pass  through  the  territories  of  many  powerful  caciques,  who  will 
oppose  you  with  hundreds  of  warriors.  Some  of  the  mountains  are  infested 
by  fierce  and  cruel  cannibals.  But,  above  all,  you  will  have  to  encounter  the 
great  cacique  Tubanama,  whose  territories  are  at  the  distance  of  six  days' 
journey,  and  more  rich  in  gold  than  any  other  province.  ITc  will  be  sure  to 
come  forth  against  you  with  a  mighty  force.  To  succeed  in  such  an  enter- 
prise would  require  at  least  one  thousand  men  armed  like  those  whom  you 
now  command." 

The  voung  chief  also  gave  some  further  information,  and  even  offered 
to  accompany  Balboa  with  his  father's  warriors. 

This  was  the  first  information  which  the  Spaniards  received  concerning 
the  great  Pacific  Ocean,  and  the  rich  and  extensive  country  afterwards  known 
by  the  name  of  Peru.  Balboa  had  now  before  him  objects  worthv  of  his 
ambition  and  the  enterprising  ardor  of  his  bright  and  active  genius.  Nor 
was  the  Faith  forgotten. 

Before  leaving  Comagre,  Balboa  had  the  happiness  of  receiving  its  wise 
and  distinguished  cacique  into  the  Church.  The  dusky  ruler  was  baptised 
by  the  name  of  Don  Carlos.  His  sons  and  many  of  his  people  followed  his 
example.     Thus  did  religion  and  the  spirit  of  discovery  go  hand  in  hand. 

Balboa  now  concluded  that  the  ocean  which  the  young  chief  mentioned 
was  no  other  than  that  for  which  Columbus  had  searched  without  success  in 
this  part  of  America,  in  hopes  of  opening  a  more  direct  communication  with 
the  East  Indies;  and  he  surmised  that  the  rich  territory  which  had  been 
described  to  him  must  be  part  of  tliat  vast  and  opulent  region  of  the  earth. 
He  was  elated  with  the  idea  of  performing  what  so  great  a  man  had  in  vain 
attempted.  The  thought  of  such  an  enterprise  aroused  his  spirit  and  ennobled 
his  character.     Besides,  he  was  also  eager  to  accomplish  a  discovery  which  he 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  59 

knew  would  be  no  less  acceptable  to  the  king  tban  beneficial  to  his  country; 
and  was  impatient  till  he  could  set  out  upon  this  undertaking,  in  comparison 
with  which  all  his  former  exploits  appeared  inconsiderable. 

With  these  thoughts  nerving  him  to  action,  Balboa  carefully  chose  one 
hundred  and  ninety  hardy  and  resolute  followers — men  devoted  to  his  person 
and  fortune.  He  armed  them  with  swords,  cross-bows  and  arquebuses.  Nor 
did  he  conceal  from  them  the  dangers  that  might  have  to  be  encountered ;  but 
the  bold  spirit  of  the  early  Spanish  adventurers  always  rose  with  the  diffi- 
culties of  their  position.  They  were  ready  to  follow  their  intrepid  leader  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth.  A  number  of  Darien  Indians  were  likewise  added  to 
the  force  for  the  expedition.  Such  was  the  motley  armament  that  set  out  in 
quest  of  the  Pacific  Ocean! 

It  was  the  6th  of  September,  151 3.  In  the  little  Indian  port  of  Coyba, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Isthmus,  there  lay  rocking  on  the  quiet  waves  a 
brigantine  and  nine  large  canoes — the  little  fleet  which  had  just  transported 
Balboa  and  his  force  from  Darien  to  this  point.  All  felt  it  was  a  day  of 
great  importance.  Early  in  the  morning  Holy  Mass  was  celebrated,  and  even 
the  least  devout  prayed  that  God  would  bless  the  expedition  with  success. 

Balboa  left  about  half  his  men  to  guard  the  vessels,  and  with  the  rest 
struck  into  the  interior.  The  Isthmus  of  Darien — now  called  Panama — is 
not  above  seventy  miles  in  breadth  ;  but  this  neck  of  land,  which  binds 
together  the  grand  divisions  of  North  and  South  America,  is  barricaded  by  a 
chain  of  lofty  mountains  stretching  through  its  whole  extent.  The  moun- 
tains at  that  day  were  covered  with  forests  almost  inaccessible.  The  valleys 
in  such  a  moist  climate,  where  it  rains  during  two-thirds  of  the  year,  are 
marshy,  and  so  frequently  overflowed,  that  the  inhabitants  find  it  necessary, 
in  many  places,  to  build  their  houses  upon  trees,  in  order  to  be  elevated  at 
some  distance  from  the  damp  soil  and  the  reptiles  engendered  in  the  jiutrid 
waters.  From  the  high  grounds  large  rivers  rush  down  with  an  impetuous 
current.  And  in  a  region  then  inhabited  by  wandering  savages,  the  hand  of 
industry  had  done  nothing  to  correct  those  natural  disadvantages. 

To  march  across  this  unexplored  country  with  no  other  guides  than 
Indians — whose  fidelity  could  be  little  trusted — was,  perhaps,  the  boldest 
enterprise  on  which  the  Spaniards  had  hitherto  ventured  in  the  New  World. 
But  the  intrepidity  of  Balboa  was  such  as  distinguished  him  among  his  coun- 
trymen at  a  period  when  every  explorer  was  conspicuous  for  daring  courage. 
Nor   was  bravery   his   only    merit.     He   was   prudent  in  conduct,  generous, 


6o  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

courteous,  and  possessed  of  those  jjopular  talents  which  in  the  most  desperate 
undertakings  inspire  confidence  and  secure  attachment. 

The  commander  no  sooner  ad\anced  into  the  interior  of  the  country 
than  he  found  his  pathway  strewed  with  numberless  obstacles.  Roads  there 
were  none.  Some  of  the  caciques,  at  his  approach,  fled  to  the  mountains 
with  all  their  people,  aiul  carried  off  or  destroyed  whatever  could  afford  sub. 
sistence  to  his  troops.  Others  collected  their  wild  subjects  in  order  to  oppose 
his  progress.  In  short,  he  quickly  learned  what  an  arduous  undertaking  it 
was  to  lead  such  a  body  of  men  across  swamp  and  river,  through  wood  and 
wilderness,  over  plain  and  mountain,  which  had  never  been  pressed  but  by 
the  feet  of  straggling  savages.  But  by  sharing  in  every  hardship  with  the 
meanest  soldier,  b}-  being  first  to  meet  every  danger,  by  promising  confidently 
to  his  little  force  the  enjoyment  of  honor  and  riches  superior  to  what  had 
been  attained  by  the  most  successful  of  their  countrymen,  he  inspired  them 
with  such  enthusiastic  bravery  that  they  followed  him  without  a  murmur. 

When  the  Spaniards  had  penetrated  a  good  way  into  the  mountains,  a 
powerful  chief  appeared  in  a  narrow  pass  with  a  large  body  of  warriors, 
armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  spears  and  war-clubs  made  of  palm,  which 
were  almost  as  hard  and  heavy  as  iron.  The  hostile  savages  looked  with 
contempt  on  the  handful  of  white,  exhausted  travelers,  raised  the  war-cry, 
and  with  fury  rushed  to  the  attack.  Balboa  and  his  men,  like  a  wall,  with- 
stood the  impetuous  onset.  The  first  fire  of  the  Spanish  guns  filled  the  dusky 
horde  with  alarm.  They  broke  and  ran.  The  Spaniards  pursued.  At  the 
end  of  the  conflict  the  chief  and  six  hundred  Indians  lay  dead  on  the  battle- 
field, and  many  more  were  taken  prisoners. 

The  troops  then  marched  to  the  village  of  the  slain  cacique  and  took 
possession  of  a  large  quantity  of  gold  and  jewels.  Balboa  reserved  one-fifth 
for  the  king  and  made  a  liberal  division  of  the  rest  among  his  exhausted  fol- 
lowers. They  had  now  reached  the  foot  of  the  last  mountain  that  separated 
them  from  a  view  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  In  the  recent  engagement  several 
of  the  Spaniards  were  wounded,  and  others  were  so  worn  out  with  fatigue 
that  they  could  go  no  farther.  After  a  careful  examination  of  his  force  the 
commander  found  but  sixty-seven  men  who  were  in  suflicient  health  and 
spirits  to  continue  their  long  and  toilsome  march.  Though  the  guides  had 
represented  the  breadth  of  the  Isthmus  to  be  only  a  journey  of  six  days,  they 
had  already  spent  twenty  in  forcing  their  way  over  mountains  and  through 
the  trackless  wilderness.     It  was  evening,  and  all  retired  to  rest. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  6 1 

The  day  had  scaicely  dawned  when  Balboa  and  his  followers  set  forth 
from  the  Indian  villaj^e  and  began  to  climb  the  height.  It  was  severe  and 
rugged  toil  for  men  so  way-worn;  but  they  were  filled  with  new  ardor  as 
the  idea  of  the  triumphant  scene  that  was  so  soon  to  repay  them  for  all  their 
hardships.  About  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  emerged  from  the  thick 
forests  through  which  they  had  hitherto  struggled,  and  arrived  at  a  lofty  and 
airy  region  of  the  mountain.  Tiie  bald  summit  alone  remained  to  be  ascended, 
and  their  guides  pointed  to  a  moderate  eminence  from  which,  they  said,  the 
Southern  Sea  was  visible. 

Upon  this,  Balboa  commanded  his  followers  to  halt,  and  that  no  man 
should  stir  from  his  place.  Then,  with  a  palpitating  heart,  he  ascended 
alone  the  bare  mountain-top.  On  reaching  the  summit,  the  long-desired 
prospect  burst  upon  his  view.  It  was  as  if  a  new  world  were  unfolded  to 
him,  separated  from  all  hitherto  known  by  this  jnighty  barrier  of  mountains. 
Below  him  extended  a  vast  chaos  of  rock,  and  forest,  and  green  savannas, 
and  wandering  streams,  while  at  a  distance  the  waters  of  the  promised  ocean 
glittered  in  the  morning  sun. 

It  was,  in  truth,  a  scene  glorious  and  picturesque.  The  brave  Balboa 
fell  upon  his  knees,  raised  his  eyes  to  Heaven,  and  thanked  the  good  God  for 
being  the  first  European  to  make  such  a  great  discovery.  He  invited  his 
troops  to  ascend. 

"  My  brothers,"  he  exclaimed,  "behold  the  object  of  all  our  desires,  and 
the  reward  of  all  our  toils.  Let  us  give  thanks  to  God  that  he  has  granted 
us  this  great  honor  and  advantage.  Let  us  pray  to  him  to  guide  and  aid  us 
to  conquer  the  sea  and  land  which  we  have  discovered,  and  which  Christian 
has  never  entered  to  preach  the  holy  doctrine  of  the  Evangelists.  As  to 
yourselves,  be  as  j'ou  have  hitherto  been,  faithful  and  true  to  me,  and,  by  the 
favor  of  Christ,  you  will  become  the  richest  Spaniards  that  have  ever  came 
to  the  Indies  ;  you  will  render  the  greatest  service  to  your  king  that  ever 
vassal  rendered  to  his  lord  ;  and  you  will  have  the  eternal  glory  and  advan- 
tage of  all  that  is  here  discovered ,  conquered,  and  converted  to  our  holy 
Catholic  faith  ! " 

This  warm,  eloquent  address  produced  profound  emotion.  The  soldiers 
embraced  their  heroic  commander,  and  promised  to  follow  him  even  to  tlcath 
itself.  The  chaplain.  Father  Andrew  tie  Vara,  then  lifted  up  his  voice  and 
chanted  the  Tc  Dcinii,  in  thanksgiving  to  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  the  uni. 
verse.     "  The  rest,  kneeling  down,"  writes  the  Protestant  Irving,  "joined  in 


62  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  strain  with  pious  enthusiasm  and  tears  of  joy ;  and  never  did  a  more  sin- 
cere oblation  rise  to  the  Deity  from  a  sanctified  altar  than  from  the  mountain 
summit.  It  was,  indeed,  one  of  the  most  sublime  discoveries  that  had  yet 
been  made  in  the  New  World,  and  must  have  opened  a  boundless  field  of 
conjecture  to  the  wondering  Spaniards." 

Balboa  called  his  companions  to  witness  that  he  took  possession  of  the 
sea,  islands,  and  surrounding  territory,  in  the  name  of  the  Catholic  sover- 
eigns of  Castile.  A  testimonial  to  that  effect  was  drawn  up,  and  signed  by 
the  sixty-seven  men.  He  then  cut  down  a  tall  tree,  made  a  cross,  and  raised 
the  august  sign  of  the  redemption  on  the  very  spot  whence  he  first  saw  the 
vast  expanse  of  water. 

To  show  the  transcendent  importance  of  this  discovery  it  may  here  be 
stated  that  the  Pacific  is  the  largest  of  the  five  great  Oceans,  and  the  name 
"Pacific,"  given  to  it  by  Magellan,  the  first  European  navigator  who  tra- 
versed its  wide  expanse,  is  doubtless  very  appropriate  to  certain  portions  of 
this  ocean;  but  as  a  whole,  its  special  claims  to  the  epithet  are  at  the  least 
doubtful,  though  the  name  has  by  long  usage  become  too  well  established 
to  be  easily  supplanted  by  any  other.  Its  greatest  length  from  the  Arctic  (at 
Behring's  Strait)  to  the  Antarctic  circles  is  9200  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth 
about  10,300  miles:  while  its  area  may  be  roughly  estimated  at  80,000,000 
English  square  miles,  or  about  2-5ths  of  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth.  Its 
form  is  rhomboidal,  with  one  corner  incomplete  (at  the  south),  and  its  surface 
is  studded  with  numberless  islands,  either  scattered  or  in  groups;  these,  how- 
ever, are  chiefly  confined  to  the  western  side.  Along  the  whole  eastern  side, 
there  is  a  belt  of  sea  of  varying  width,  which,  with  a  very  few  exceptions, 
is  wholly  free  from  islands.  The  deepest  sounding  yet  found  in  it  is  26,850 
feet,  or  above  5  miles — nearly  equal  to  the  height  of  the  highest  mountain  on 
the  globe. 

The  Spaniards  held  on  their  course,  descended  the  mountain,  and 
through  many  obstacles  forced  their  way  to  the  shore.  The  wild 
waters  lay  in  sombre  silence.  No  sail  met  the  eye.  A  great  bay  extend- 
ed as  far  as  the  vision  could  reach,  and  it  being  St.  Michael's  day,  Balboa, 
in  the  spirit  of  a  true  Catholic,  gave  it  the  name  of  Gulf  of  St.  Michael, 
the  name  by  which  it  is  known  even  to-day.  At  that  hour  the  tide  was 
out,  but  the  commander  waited  till  the  surging  deep  swept  in  almost 
to  his  feet.    He  then  took  a  banner,  upon  which  were  painted  the  images  of 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  63 

the  Most  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  Holy  Infant,  and  under  them  the  arms  of 
Castile,  and,  drawing  his  sword,  he  marched  into  the  sea,  until  the  water  was 
knee-deep,  and  called  upon  all  to  witness  that  he  took  solemn  possession  for 
the  Spanish  Sovereigns.  The  notary  of  the  expedition  drew  up  the  usual 
document,  which  was  signed  by  those  present.  Then  all  stooped  down  and 
tasted  the  waters,  and  again  returned  thanks  to  heaven.  Balboa  finally  cut 
three  crosses  on  three  adjacent  trees,  in  honor  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  in 
token  that  he  had  discovered  and  taken  possession  of  the  great  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  remainder  of  Balboa's  life  was  as  sad  as  it  was  brief.  His  first  care 
was  to  send  home  the  news  of  his  discovery,  and  to  demand  reinforcements 
for  the  conquest  of  Peru.  King  Ferdinand,  with  his  usual  hateful  policy, 
appointed  another  governor  over  the  territories  added  by  Balboa  to  his  crown, 
while  the  immortal  pioneer  hnnself  was  tardily  assigned  the  subordinate 
position  of  lieutenant-governor.  But  Balboa  did  not  complain.  He  received 
the  new  governor — a  cruel,  intriguing  courtier  named  Davila — with  all  the 
respect  due  to  his  position. 

It  could  scarcely  be  hoped  that  harmony  would  long  prevail  among  men 
so  different  in  merit,  temper,  and  genius,  as  Balboa  and  Davila.  From  the 
first  Davila  exhibited  feelings  of  jealousy.  Dissensions  were  frequent,  and 
the  colony  suffered  in  consequence.  The  bishop  of  Darien,  for  a  time,  suc- 
ceeded in  reconciling  the  governor  and  his  lieutenant.  When  Balboa  promised 
to  marry  Davila's  daughter,  it  was  thought  the  reconciliation  would  be  lasting. 

The  discoverer  of  the  Pacific  now  hastened  preparations  for  the  conquest 
at  Peru.  Not  finding  suitable  timber  for  ship-building  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
he  had  it  cut  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  It  was  then  dragged  piece  by  piece 
over  the  rugged,  lofty  mountains  of  the  isthmus.  Even  anchors  and  rigging 
were  thus  conveyed,  and  it  need  scarcely  be  said  that  the  toil  was  extreme. 
At  length,  four  vessels  manned  by  three  hundred  chosen  men  were  ready  to 
sail,  when  Balboa  received  an  unexpected  message  from  Davila,  requesting 
his  immediate  presence. 

He  at  once  hastened  to  Alca  to  meet  the  governor,  never  for  a  moment 
suspecting  the  murderous  treachery  of  the  man.  While  on  the  way  he  was 
arrested  by  his  old  companion  Francis  Pizarro,and  cast  into  prison.  A  mock 
trial  began,  and  Balboa  was  condemned  to  death,  on  the  false  charge  of 
meditating  rebellion.  15ut  the  notable  discoverer  repelled  the  charge  with 
virtuous  indignation;  and,  fixing  his  eye  on  the  brutal  Davila,  he  exclaimed: 

"  Had  I  been  conscious  of  my  guilt,  what  could  have  induced  me  to  come 


64  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

here  and  put  myself  into  your  hands?  Had  I  meditated  rebcUion,  v\'V.  ,t 
prevented  me  from  carrying  it  into  effect?  I  had  four  ships  'eady  to  weigh 
anchor,  three  iiundred  brave  men  at  my  command,  and  an  open  sea  before 
me.  What  had  I  to  do  but  to  spread  sail  and  press  forward?  There  was  no 
doubt  of  finding  a  land,  whether  rich  or  poor,  sufficient  for  me  and  mine,  far 
beyond  the  reach  of  your  control.  In  the  innocence  of  my  heart,  however,  i 
came  here  promptly  at  your  mere  request,  and  my  reward  is  insult — slander — 
chains!" 

In  violation  of  all  forms  of  justice,  Balboa  was  condemned  to  death. 
But  he  met  his  unhappy  fate  like  a  brave  man  and  a  true  Catholic;  and  after 
making  a  last  humble  confession  and  receiving  Holy  Communion,  he  was 
behe.nded  in  1517,  at  the  rude  town  of  Alca,  almost  in  sight  of  the  cross  on 
the  mountain  that  bore  witness  to  his  immortal  discovery. 

To  complete  a  noble  trio  of  Spanish  pioneers  some  account  must  also  be 
given  of  John  Ponce  de  Leon,  a  cavalier  who  had  accompanied  Columbus  on 
his  second  voyage.  The  early  years  of  this  gallant  gentleman  had  been 
devoted  to  arms,  and  in  his  native  Spain  he  had  served  in  many  a  campaign 
against  the  Moors.  Nor  was  he  long  in  the  New  World  when  he  also 
acquired  fame  as  a  skilled  Indian  fighter. 

Ponce  de  Leon  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  a  province  embracing 
the  eastern  extremity  of  Hispaniola.  A  neighboring  island,  hitherto  unex- 
plored, could  be  seen  in  the  distance.  It  was  Porto  Rico,  whose  lofty 
mountains  were  clothed  with  forest  trees  of  prodigious  size  and  magnificent 
foliage.  The  climate  was  healthy.  Precious  metals  abounded,  and  silvery 
streams  flowed  down  through  wild  valleys  full  of  romantic  scenery. 

All  this  Ponce  de  Leon  discovered  on  exploring  the  country  in  150S. 
The  next  thing  was  to  conquer  it.  The  king,  indeed,  made  him  governor; 
but  the  Indians  battled  bravely  for  their  island  paradise.  It  was  only  after 
much  fighting  and  man)'  hardships  that  he  became  master  of  Porto  Rico. 

It  is  singular  that  among  his  most  successful  "warriors  was  a  dog  named 
Berezillo,  renowned  for  courage,  strength,  and  sagacity.  It  is  said  that  he 
could  distinguish  those  of  the  Indians  who  were  allies  from  those  who  were 
enemies  of  the  Spaniards.  To  the  former  he  was  docile  and  friendl}',  to  the 
latter  fierce  and  implacable.  He  was  the  terror  of  the  natives,  who  were 
unaccustomed  to  powerful  and  ferocious  animals,  and  did  more  service  in  this 
wild    warfare    than    could    have    been    rendered  by  several    soldiers.     This 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  65 

famous  dog  was  killed  some  years  afterwards  by  a  poisoned  arrow,  as>  hw  was 
swimming  in  the  sea  in  pursuit  of  a  Carib  Indian!" 

In  the  course  of  time,  however.  Ponce  de  Leon  was  relieved  of  the  com- 
mand of  Porto  Rico.  But  the  old  cavalier  looked  about  for  some  new  under- 
taking. Age  could  not  tame  his  restless  spirit,  and  his  head  was  soon  filled 
with  one  of  the  most  romantic  enterprises  in  early  American  history.  He  had 
learned  from  some  wandering  Indians  of  a  country  in  the  northwest — a  land 
abounding  in  riches  and  possessing  a  river  of  such  marvellous  virtue  that  a 
bath  in  its  healing  waters  restored  decrepit  age  to  the  bloom,  vigor,  and 
beauty  of  youth. 

"  Ponce  de  Leon,"  says  Irving,  "  listened  to  these  tales  with  fond  cred- 
ulity. He  was  advancing  in  life,  and  the  ordinary  term  of  existence  seemed 
insufficient  for  his  mighty  plans.  Could  he  but  plunge  into  this  gifted  river 
and  come  out  with  his  battered,  war-worn  body  restored  to  the  strength,  and 
freshness,  and  suppleness  of  youth,  and  his  head  still  retaining  the  wisdom 
and  knowledge  of  age,  what  enterprises  might  he  not  accomplish  in  the 
additional  course  of  vigorous  years  insured  to  him." 

It  may  seem  incredible  at  the  present  day  that  a  man  of  years  and  expe- 
rience could  yield  any  faith  to  a  story  which  resembles  the  wild  fiction  of  an 
Arabian  tale;  but  the  wonders  and  novelties  breaking  upon  the  world  in  that 
age  of  discovery  almost  realized  the  illusions  of  fable. 

So  fully  convinced  was  the  worthy  old  cavalier  of  the  existence  of  the 
region  described  to  him  that  he  fitted  out  three  ships  at  his  own  expense  to 
prosecute  the  discovery,  nor  had  he  any  difficulty  in  finding  adventurers  in 
abundance  ready  to  cruise  with  him  in  quest  of  this  fairy-land. 

He  steered  from  the  Island  of  Porto  Rico,  and  after  sailing  to  the  north- 
west for  over  three  weeks,  he  discovered  an  unknown  country,  decked  in 
blooming  flowers  and  covered  with  magnificent  forests.  It  was  Easter 
Sunday — called  by  the  Spaniards  Pascua  Florida — the  27tii  of  March,  1513. 
The  veteran  Catholic  pioneer  named  the  new  land  Florida,  a  name  retained 
to  this  day.  He  took  possession  of  the  country  for  the  Spanish  sovereigns. 
The  Indians  proved  fierce  and  warlike,  and,  after  looking  in  vain  for  the  river 
of  youth,  he  turned  his  steps  homeward. 

Ponce  de  Leon  was  received  with  much  honor  at  the  Spanish  court,  and 
King  Ferdinand  bestowed  on  him  the  title  of  Governor  of  Florida.  Nine 
years  passed  away,  however,  before  he  resolved  to  settle  anil  develop  tlie 
resources  of  tlie  new  country.     Aroused  to  fresh  exertion  by  the  news  of  the 


66  TRI.ll.S  .1X1)  TRILMl'HS  01-  THE 

brilliant  achievements  of  Cortes  in  Mexico,  he  fitted  out  an  expedition  and 
landed  on  the  coast  of  Florida.  A  sharp  encounter  with  the  savages  followed. 
The  governor,  mortally  wounded,  was  borne  on  board  of  his  ship,  which 
sailed  for  Cuba.     He  died,  shortly  after  landing  at  that  island,  in  152  i. 

"  Thus  fate,"  says  a  Spanish  writer,  "delights  to  reverse  the  schemes  of 
man.  The  discovery  that  Ponce  de  Leon  flattered  himself  was  to  lead  to  a 
means  of  perpetuating  his  life,  had  the  ultimate  effect  of  hastening  his  death." 

It  is  true  the  old  warrior  failed  to  find  the  fountain  of  youth,  but  he 
immortalized  his  name  by  discovering  Florida.  The  epitaph  on  his  monu- 
ment is  a  fair  summary  of  his  fearless  character:  "  In  this  tomb  rest  the  bones 
of  a  man  who  was  a  lion  by  name,  and  still  more  by  nature." 

But  many  volumes  might  be  filled  in  recounting  the  deeds  of  those  pio- 
iieers  of  the  New  World.  Nor  was  Spain  the  only  nation  that  sent  her  brave 
captains  into  this  field  of  discovery  and  exploration.  Farther  southward  still 
the  Portuguese  discoverers,  Cabral  and  Orellana,  carried  on  the  work. 
Finally,  on  the  utmost  southern  cape,  the  pious  Magellan  planted  the  Cross. 
In  all  the  Portugese  voyages  the  same  religious  characteristics  prevailed  as  in 
those  of  the  Spaniards. 

At  the  North  we  also  meet  with  the  Italian  genius  Verazzano  and  the 
two  Cabots,  father  and  son.  The  latter  were  in  the  service  of  England ;  but 
as  yet  England  was  Catholic,  and  the  creed  of  an  Italian  was  no  bar  to  his 
employment.  Jacques  Cartier,  De  Soto,  Champlain  and  La  Salle  are  of  a 
later  day,  and  will  each  be  fittingly  noticed  in  the  order  of  time.  In  all  the 
attributes  that  distinguish  manly  character — as  courage,  energy,  fortitude — 
these  Catholic  discoverers  were  eminent.  In  piety,  virtue,  integrity,  they  will 
bear  comparison  with  any  equal  number  of  the  world's  great  men.  The 
spirit  of  devotion  which  is  seen  in  the  records  of  all,  and  their  constant  fidelity 
to  Church  and  sovereign,  bear  witness  to  the  ages  for  them  as  loyal  gentlemen. 
They  were  not  free  from  faults,  but  neither  did  their  faults  outnumber  their 
virtues.  They  were  not  all  good  missionaries,  but  they  were  a  brood  of 
eagles,  penetrating  farther  and  farther  into  the  wilderness  as  population 
pressed  on  from  behind.  Most  of  them  died  in  the  regions  they  had 
marked  out  for  their  own.  None  of  them  fared  better  than  Columbus — 
not  one  of  them  ruled  in  his  posterity.  In  the  islands  or  on  the  main- 
land, with  two  exceptions,  their  unknown  graves  are  scattered  in  solitary 
places,  and  the  names  they  dreamed  to  make  immortal  are  now  almost  un- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  67 

known.  But  assiireiUy  they  shall  not  be  forgotten  by  us  who  are  of  the  same 
sacred  Household — for  they  were  all  Catholics,  who  undertook  their  daring 
ventures  from  C'atnolic  motives,  and  wno  only  succeeded  in  them  through 
Catholic  co-oDcration. 


Cbaptett  IV. 


The  Empipc  of  the  llztccs. 


YOUTH  AND  Training  of  Cortes.— A  Vast  and  Daring  Enterprise.— Follow- 
ing THE  Velvet  Banner. —  Eventful  March  in  Mexico.  —  The  Beautiful 
City.— Capture  of  the  Emperor.— A  Stubborn  Siege.— Battle  and  Blood- 
shed.—Conquest  OF  THB  Capital.— Later  Years  of  the  Conqueror.- Con- 
version OF  A  Whole  Race. 

'S  one  of  the  chief  factors  in  the  Spanish  settlement  of  this  conti- 
nent, as  well  as  in  the  evangelization  of  millions  of  its  aborigines, 
the  wonderful  conquest  of  Mexico  demands  a  special  notice. 
''  Among  the  crowd  that  greeted  Columbus  at  the  wharf  of  San 
Domingo,  after  his  escape,  on  his  last  voyage,  from  the  wreck  at 
Jamaica,  might  be  noticed  a  handsome,  well-educated  young  man 
of  distinguished  bearing,  who  seemed  to  take  an  unusual  interest  in  the 
venerable  discoverer.  This  was  Hernando  Cortes,  who  had  lately  arrived  in 
Hispaniola. 

He  was  born  in  1485,  at  Me.lellin,  a  little  town  in  Spain.  His  parents, 
Don  Martin  Cortds  and  Doiia  Catharine  Pizarro,  belonged  to  ancient 
families,  and  were  persons  of  worth,  virtue,  and  distinction.  Hernando  was 
educated  for  the  law,  and  spent  two  years  at  the   University  of   Salamanca; 

68 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  69 

but  his  daring  nature  inclined  him  to  a  hfe  of  adventure,  and  he  afterwards 
adopted  the  profession  of  arms.  In  1504,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  received 
some  money  and  the  tender  blessing  of  his  father  and  mother,  and  sailed  in 
an  expedition  to  the  New  World. 

On  arriving  at  Hispaniola,  young  Cortes  was  well  received  by  his  kins- 
man. Governor  Ovando,  who  employed  him  in  helping  to  put  down  a  rebel- 
lion among  the  Indians.  It  was  here  he  gained  his  first  experience  in  savage 
warfare.  When,  in  1511,  Velasquez  undertook  to  subdue  and  colonize  Cuba, 
Cortes  joined  the  enterprise,  and  so  distinguished  himself  that  he  received  a 
handsome  reward  for  his  services  in  large  grants  of  lands  and  Indians. 

Cortes  now  settled  down  in  Cuba,  lived  on  his  estate,  devoted  himself  to 
agriculture,  was  appointed  a  magistrate,  and  married  a  beautiful  lady  named 
Dona  Catherine  Juarez.  Time  had  moulded,  ripened,  and  improved  his  rest- 
less character.  Good  temper  and  soldierly  frankness  were  now  accompanied 
by  calm  prudence  in  concerting  his  schemes,  by  persevering  vigor  in  execut- 
ing them,  and  what  is  a  peculiar  gift  of  superior  genius — the  art  of  gaining 
the  confidence  and  governing  the  minds  of  men. 

To  all  these  were  added  the  smaller  accomplishments  that  strike  the 
vulgar,  and  command  respect — a  graceful  person,  a  winning  countenance, 
remarkable  skill  in  warlike  exercises,  and  a  constitution  of  such  iron  vigor  as 
to  be  capable  of  enduring  any  fatigue.  Such  was  Cortes  at  the  age  of 
thirty-three,  when  he  was  selected  by  Governor  Velasquez  to  add  the  recently 
discovered  empire  of  Mexico  to  the  provinces  of  Spain.  This  had  been  origi- 
nally the  land  of  the  Toltecs  and  from  about  the  year  1200  of  the  Aztecs, 
who  came  from  the  north,  and  after  wandering  from  place  to  place,  founded 
in  1325  the  city  of  Tenochtitlan,  or  Mexico.  Their  empire  extended  from 
ocean  to  ocean,  stretching  on  the  Atlantic  from  18°  to  21°  n.  lat.,  and  on  the 
Pacific  from  14°  to  19°  n.  lat.  Their  government  was  an  elective  empire, 
the  sovereign  being  selected  from  the  brothers  of  the  deceased  prince.  Their 
laws  were  severe,  but  justice  was  administered  in  open  courts,  the  proceedings 
of  which  were  perpetuated  by  means  of  picture-written  records. 

The  future  conqueror  expressed  his  warm  thanks  for  the  commission; 
but  \'elas(iuez  had  no  sooner  granted  the  document,  than  the  whispering  of 
evil  tongues  inclined  him  to  revoke  it.  He  suddenly  grew  jealous.  He 
seemed  to  fear  that  his  dashing  and  sagacious  lieutenant  would  deprive  him 
of  all  the  glory  of  the  enterprise.  Cortes,  however,  maintained  his  command 
in  defiance  of  the  governor. 


70  TRIALS  ASD  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

Never,  perhaps,  was  a  great  enterprise  begun  with  so  little  regard  for  its 
difficulties  and  dangers.  The  fleet  consisted  of  eleven  small  vessels,  and  six 
hundred  and  seventeen  men.  Only  thirteen  soldiers  had  muskets.  Thirty- 
two  were  cross,  jowmen,  and  the  rest  were  armed  with  spears  and  swords. 
The  cavalry  and  artillery  were  summed  up  in  twelve  horses  and  ten  small 
pieces  of  cannon. 

The  chief  banner  of  the  expedition  was  of  black  velvet,  embroidered  with 
gold,  and  emblazoned  with  a  red  cross  on  black  ground,  sprinkled  with  blue 
and  white  flames,  and  underneath  was  the  motto:  "  Let  us  follow  the  Cross, 
and  in  that  sign  we  shall  conquer." 

The  fleet  was  placed  under  the  protection  of  St.  Peter,  the  patron  saint 
of  Cortds.  Holy  Mass  was  celebrated  early  in  the  morning  by  the  chaplain  of 
the  expedition,  Father  Bartholomew  dc  Olmedo,  O.  S.  F.,  and  on  the  iSth  of 
February,  1519,  the  trumpet  sounded  for  departure,  and  the  armament  bore 
away  towards  Mexico. 

After  touching  at  the  island  of  Cozumel — where  he  had  the  good  fort- 
une to  redeem  Jerome  de  Aguilar,  a  Spanish  ecclesiastic  who  had  been  eight 
years  a  captive  among  the  Indians,  and  who  afterwards  proved  extremely 
useful  as  an  interpreter — Cortes  doubled  Cape  Catoche,  swept  down  the 
broad  Bay  of  Campeachy,  and  cast  anchor  at  the  mouth  of  the  little  river 
Tabasco. 

The  shore  was  lined  with  Indians.  The  general  asked  permission  to 
land,  but  he  was  answered  with  angry  gestures  and  shouts  of  defiance.  He 
disembarked,  however,  and  at  once  found  himself  surrounded  by  crowds  of 
enemies.  The  hard-contested  battle  of  Cintla  was  fought  after  Mass  on  the 
festival  of  the  Annunciation.  Forty  thousand  Indians  made  frantic  efforts  to 
crush  the  handful  of  Spaniards,  but  Cortes,  by  a  bold  flank  movement,  at  the 
head  of  the  cavalry,  turned  the  scales  of  victory.  The  savages  were  com- 
pletely routed. 

"  It  was  not  long,"  said  Prescott, describing  this  brilliant  charge,"  before 
the  ears  of  the  Christians  were  saluted  with  the  cheering  war-cry  of  San 
Jago  and  Sar.  Pedro!  and  they  beheld  the  bright  helmets  and  swords  of  the 
Castilian  chivalry  flashing  back  the  rays  of  the  morning  sun,  as  they  dashed 
through  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  striking  to  the  right  and  left,  and  scattering 
dismay  around  them.  The  eye  of  faith,  indeed,  could  discern  the  patron 
saint  of  Spain  himself,  mounted  on  his  gray  war-horse,  leading  the  rescue 
and  trampling  over  the  bodies  of  the  fallen  infidels!" 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  7 1 

The  terror-stricken  Tabascans  humbly  submitted,  acknowledged  the 
king  of  Spain  as  their  sovereign,  made  Hberal  presents  to  the  victors,  and 
gave  all  the  information  in  their  power  about  Mexico.  Nor  did  Cort^z 
forget  that  the  spread  of  the  Catholic  religion  was  one  of  the  first  objects  of 
the  expedition.  He  broke  down  the  idols,  anil  set  up  crosses.  The  priests 
instructed  the  Indians,  who  embraced  the  Faith  in  large  numbers.  On  Palm 
Sunday  there  was  a  solemn  procession  of  the  whole  army,  "each  soldier 
bearing  a  palm-branch  in  his  hand." 

Next  day  the  Spaniards  returned  to  their  ships,  and  coasted  along  towards 
the  northwest  till  they  came  to  the  harb'^'-  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa.  Here  they 
disembarked,  and  were  visited  by  some  iviexican  officers,  with  whom  Cort^z 
entered  into  negotiations  regarding  a  visit  to  Montezuma,  who  then  ruled 
with  nearly  absolute  sway  over  the  empire  of  Mexico.  Montezuma  sent  the 
Spanish  general  rich  j^resents — among  which  were  a  basket  of  gold  and 
silver  ornaments,  some  boxes  filled  with  pearls,  and  two  large  circular  plates 
of  massive  gold,  one  representing  the  sun  and  the  other  the  moon — but 
objected  to  his  visiting  the  capital. 

Cortdz,  however,  resolved  upon  seeing  the  emperor  in  his  capital  and 
was  not  to  be  daunted  by  opposition.  "This  is  indeed  a  rich  and  powerful 
prince,"  he  remarked  to  his  officers,  "but  it  shall  go  hard  if  we  do  not  one 
day  pay  him  a  visit."  Having  founded  the  town  of  Vera  Cruz — or  the  True 
Cross — and  burned  all  his  ships  but  one,  so  that  his  troops  could  not  return, 
and  must  henceforth  conquer  or  perish,  the  hero,  with  a  force  reduced  to  four 
hundred  Spaniards  and  a  considerable  number  of  Indians,  lent  him  by  dissat- 
isfied chiefs  dependent  upon  Montezuma,  prepared  to  march  for  the  city  of 
Mexico.  Before  departing,  he  made  an  address  to  his  soldiers,  some  of  whom 
were  discontented. 

"As  for  me,"  he  said  in  conclusion,  "1  have  chosen  my  part.  I  will 
remain  here  while  there  is  one  soldier  to  bear  me  companj'.  If  there  be  any 
so  craven  as  to  shrink  from  sharing  the  dangers  of  our  glorious  enterprise,  let 
them  go  home,  in  God's  name.  There  is  still  one  vessel  left.  Let  them  take 
that,  and  return  to  Cuba.  They  can  tell  how  they  deserted  their  commander 
and  their  comrades,  and  patiently  wait  till  we  return  loaded  with  the  spoils  of 
the  Mexicans." 

This  address  had  a  magical  effect.  Shouts  of  "On  to  Mexico!"  resounded 
through  the  camp,  and  the  line  of  march  was  begun  on  the  i6th  of  August, 
1519.     The  hardy  veterans  scaled  the  table-lands  of  Mexico  amid  sleet  and 


72 


TRIALS  AND    TRIUMPHS  OF   THE 


hail,  and  crectod  crosses  as  they  passed  along.  "The  route  of  the  army," 
says  Prescott,  "might  be  tracked  by  these  emblems  of  man's  salvation." 

On  coming  to  the  proud  little  republic  of  Tlascala,  Cort^z  requested 
permission  to  pass  through  the  country  on  his  way  to  the  capital  of  Mexico. 
He  was  refused,  and  had  to  vanquish  two  large  armies  before  the  Tlascalans 
recognized  his  power  and  genius,  and  became  his  friends  and  faithful  allies. 

The  Spanish  general  continued  his  march  with  his  forces  swelled  by 
6,000  Tlascalan  warriors.  He  next  came  to  the  beautiful  city  of  Cholula,  the 
sanctuary  of  the  Mexican  idols.  Here  he  learned  of  a  bold  plot  to  massacre 
his  whole  force,  but,  heading  off  the  treacherous  barbarians,  he  fell  on  them 
like  a  flash  of  lightning,  in  swift  and  terrible  chastisement.  The  slaughter 
lasted  for  two  days.  The  dead  bodies  of  six  thousand  Cholulans  filled  the 
city  with  terror,  and  carried  dismay  into  the  very  heart  of  the  empire. 

The  Spaniards  and  their  allies  pressed  on  through  a  lofty  country  of 
picturesque  grandeur.  For  a  few  leagues  the  way  led  uj)  the  steep  side  of  a 
great  volcanic  mountain,  then  in  a  state  of  eruption,  although  its  fires  are  now 
extinguished.  A  dense  forest  for  a  time  impeded  their  march,  then,  as  tiiey 
ascended,  vegetation  ceased,  and  they  passed  within  the  line  of  everlasting 
snow.  At  length,  rounding  a  shoulder  of  the  mountain,  the  great  Valley  of 
Mexico,  seen  afar,  in  that  clear  air,  spread  itself  before  them  in  all  its  glory 
of  lake  and  city,  of  garden  and  forest,  and  cultivated  plain.  It  was  a  vision 
never  to  be  forgotten.  Cort^z  was  received  with  great  pomp  by  the 
emperor  in  person.  He  was  conducted  to  a  vast  palace.  "You  are  now," 
said  the  politic  Mexican  ruler,  "with  your  brothers  in  your  own  house. 
Refresh  yourself  after  your  fatigues,  and  be  happy  till  I  return." 

Cortds  and  his  companions  entered  the  capital  on  the  iSth  day  of 
November,  1519.  It  had  been  well  said  that  in  a  time  of  great  festivity,  they 
would  have  formed  but  a  poor  and  mean  sacrifice  to  have  been  offered  to  the 
Mexican  gods.  The  population  of  the  celebrated  city — then  the  greatest  in 
the  New  World — was  estimated  at  300,000  souls. 

It  was  built  on  islands  in  a  shallow  salt-water  lake,  and  was  approached 
by  three  principal  causeways  of  about  thirty  feet  in  breadth,  and  constructed 
of  solid  masonry.  At  the  end  of  these  causeways  were  wooden  draw-bridges, 
so  that  in  time  of  war  communication  could  be  cut  off  between  the  causeways 
and  the  city,  which  would  thus  become  a  citadel.  There  were  numerous 
temples,  and  the  royal  palaces  were  vast  and  magnificent.  The  market-place 
accommodated  fifty  thousand  people. 


MT.   REV.  JOHN  M.  FARLEY,  D.  D., 
Archbishop   of    New    York. 


CHURCHES   IN    THE  ARCHDIOCESE   OF   NEW   YORK. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  73 

In  the  evening,  Montezuma  leturned  to  visit  his  guests.  He  came  in 
great  state,  and  brought  valuable  presents  to  Cortes  and  his  men.  A  long 
conference  then  followed  with  the  Spanish  general,  in  which  the  Mexican 
monarch  freely  expressed  his  opinion  of  the  strangers.  Among  the  Mexicans 
it  was  an  established  tradition,  he  told  Cortes,  that  their  ancestors  came  origi- 
nally from  a  remote  region,  and  conquered  the  countries  now  subject  to  his 
rule,  and  that  after  thej'  were  settled  there,  the  great  captain  who  conducted 
this  colony  returned  to  his  own  country,  promising  that  at  some  future  period 
his  descendants  would  visit  them,  assume  the  government,  and  reform  their 
laws  and  constitution. 

From  what  he  had  seen  and  heard  of  the  Spaniards,  Montezuma  said 
in  conclusion,  he  had  no  doubt  that  they  were  the  very  persons  whose 
appearance  the  Mexican  traditions  and  prophecies  taught  him  to  expect;  and 
hence  he  had  received  them,  not  as  strangers,  but  as  relations  of  the  same  blood 
and  parentage,  and  desired  that  they  might  consider  themselves  as  masters  in 
his  dominions,  for  both  himself  and  his  subjects  \vould  be  ready  to  show  them 
all  due  honor.  The  reply  of  the  Spanish  commander  was  eloquent,  cautious, 
and  dignified. 

The  next  day  Cortes  paid  a  visit  to  Montezuma.  This  time  the  conver- 
sation was  not  political.  It  was  religious.  Our  hero  was  a  man  of  deep  and 
ardent  faith.  As  a  true  knight  he  would  have  shed  the  last  drop  of  his  blood 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  Catholic  Church.  Indeed,  the  pages  of  history 
might  be  searched  in  vain  for  the  name  of  any  conquerer  who  was  more 
deeply  imbued  with  the  missionary  spirit  than  the  wise  and  fearless  Cortes. 

The  commander-in-chief  was  not  unpracticed  in  expounding  the  truths 
of  Faith.  He  related  to  Montezuma  the  wonderful  story  of  Chri-tianit}', 
stated  why  the  Spaniards  honored  the  cross,  gave  expression  to  his  hatred 
and  scorn  for  the  vile  idols  of  Mexico,  and  informed  the  dusky  emperor  that 
these  idols  had  given  way  before  the  cross.  He  then  spoke  of  the  creation, 
of  Adam  and  Eve,  and  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man ;  and  said  that  his 
king  in  the  true  spirit  of  such  brotherhood,  grieving  over  the  loss  of  souls, 
had  sent  the  Spaniards  to  prevent  the  adoration  of  idols  and  the  revolting 
sacrifice  of  men  and  women.  The  ministers  of  the  good  and  all-powerful 
God,  he  concluded,  would  come  after  him  to  instruct  the  Mexicans  in  these 
holy  things. 

"I  have  had  a  perfect  understanding,"  replied  Montezuma,  "of  all  the 
discourse  and  reasonings  which  you  have  addressed  before  now  to  my  subjects 


74  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

upon  the  subject  of  your  God,  aiul  in  relation  to  the  cross.  We  have  not 
responded  to  any  of  these  things,  for  from  the  beginning  here  we  have 
adored  our  gods,  and  have  held  them  to  be  good  gods;  and  so,  no  doubt,  are 
yours.  But  do  not  take  the  trouble,  at  present,  to  s-iy  anything  more  about 
them  to  us."  The  royal  pagan  then  concluded  with  a  most  courteous 
reference  to  the  Spanish  sovereign. 

Several  days  were  now  employed  in  viewing  the  city.  Its  appearance 
filled  the  Spaniards  with  surprise  and  admiration.  There  could  be  seen  the 
vast  market-place,  with  its  thousands  of  buyers  and  sellers.  Cortes  visited 
the  great  temple  of  the  Mexican  god  of  war,  at  the  entrance  of  which  he  was 
received  by  Montezuma  and  his  priests  and  nobles.  The  party  ascended  to 
the  pinnacle,  and  the  view  was  beautiful. 

While  enjoying  the  grandeur  of  the  scene,  Cortes  turned  to  his  venerable 
companion,  Father  de  Olmedo,  and  said:  "It  appears  to  me,  Reverend 
Father,  that  we  might  just  make  a  trial  of  Montezuma,  and  see  if  he  would 
let  us  set  up  our  church  here."  The  wiser  Franciscan  replied  that  it  would 
be  very  well  to  make  the  request  if  there  were  any  hope  of  its  being  granted ; 
just  then  did  not  seem  to  be  an  opportune  moment,  and  the  Mexican  ruler 
would  most  likely  give  a  decided  refusal.  The  Spanish  general  abandoned 
the  idua,  and  merely  asked  Montezuma  to  permit  the  strangers  to  see  his  gods. 
For  the  first  time  a  Christian  entered  those  dread  abodes  of  idolatry. 

In  a  tower  they  beheld  two  hideous  figures  seated  on  an  altar  under  a 
canopy.  One  had  a  broad  face,  wide  mouth,  and  terrible  eyes;  the  other  had 
a  countenance  like  that  of  a  bear.  Before  these  idols  were  burning  eight  real 
hearts  of  men  who  had  that  day  been  sacrificed.  The  walls  were  black  with 
clotted  blood.  The  stench  was  sickening.  In  short,  it  was  a  sight  awful  and 
revolting,  and  Cortds  did  not  attempt  to  conceal  his  just  and  Christian  indig- 
nation. The  Spaniards  marched  back  to  their  quarters,  sickened  and  saddeneci, 
but  somewhat  enlightened  as  to  the  nature  and  barbarous  customs  of  the  men 
by  whom  they  were  surrounded. 

Cortds  felt  the  peculiar  danger  and  delic.icy  of  his  situation.  From  /i 
concurrence  of  circumstances,  no  less  unexpected  than  favorable  to  his  progress, 
he  had  been  allowed  with  a  handful  of  soldiers  to  penetrate  into  the  heart  of 
a  powerful  empire,  without  having  once  met  with  open  opposition  from  its 
ruler.  He  was  now  lodged  in  its  capital.  The  Tlascalans,  however,  had 
earnestly  dissuaded  the  Spaniards  from  placing  such  confidence  in  Montezuma 
as  to  enter  a  city  so  singularly  situated  as  Mexico,  where  that  monarch  would 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  75 

have  them  at  his  mercy,  shut  up  as  it  were  in  a  snare,  from  which  it  was 
impossible  to  escape. 

They  assured  the  Spaniards  that  the  Mexican  priests  had — in  the  name 
of  the  gods — counseled  their  sovereign  to  admit  the  strangers  into  the  capital, 
that  he  might  cut  them  off  at  one  blow,  with  perfect  security.  Cortes  only 
too  plainly  perceived  that  the  apprehension  of  his  allies  was  not  destitute  of 
foundation  ;  that  by  breaking  the  bridges  placed  at  certain  distances  on  the 
causeways,  the  retreat  of  his  band  of  Castilians  would  be  next  to  impossible, 
and  that  he  would  have  to  remain  cooped  up  in  the  centre  of  a  hostile  city, 
surrounded  by  savage  multitudes  sufficient  to  overwhelm  his  forces. 

The  genius  of  Cortes  at  once  grasped  the  idea  that  the  success  of  his 
enterprise  entirely  depended  upon  supporting  the  high  opin'on  which  the 
people  of  Mexico  had  formed  with  respect  to  the  irresistible  power  of  his 
arms.  To  be  timid  was  to  be  lost.  The  least  sign  of  fear  might  bring 
Montezuma  to  let  loose  upon  him  the  whole  force  of  the  empire.  A  bold 
step  had  involved  him  in  difhculties,  but  he  ventured  on  a  still  bolder — 
perhaps,  the  boldest  in  all  history. 

He  resolved  to  seize  Montezuma,  in  his  own  palace  and  bring  him  as  a 
prisoner  to  the  Spanish  quarters.  Various  causes  urged  him  to  act  thus. 
From  the  superstitious  veneration  of  the  Mexicans  for  the  person  of  their 
monarch,  as  well  as  their  implicit  submission  to  his  will,  Cortes  hoped  that 
by  having  Montezuma  in  his  hands,  he  would  have  a  sacred  ^.iedge  which 
would  secure  him  from  their  violence.  He  moreover  thought  that  with  the 
emperor  once  in  his  power,  all  the  provinces  of  the  Mexican  empire  would 
be  easily  brought  undLT  Spanish  rule.  He  communicated  the  perilous  scheme 
to  his  troops,  and,  according  to  Bernal  Diaz,  they  passed  the  night  in  praying 
to  God,  "that  the  enterprise  might  be  so  conducted  as  to  -edound  to  His  holy 
service." 

The  recent  killing  of  a  few  ;->|).iiiiards  outside  the  city  was  made  the 
pretext.  Until  the  matter  was  cleared  up,  Cortes  declared,  Montezuma  must 
come  and  live  with  his  forces  in  their  quarters.  He  added  kind  and  soothing 
words,  but  the  Mexican  monarch  sat  stupefied  at  the  bold  demand.  "I  am 
not  one  of  those  persons,"  he  replied,  "  who  are  put  in  irons.  Even  if  I  were 
to  consent,  my  subjects  would  never  permit  it."  The  Spanish  general 
persisted,  however,  in  his  demand,  and  Montezuma  finally  yielded.  In  deep 
silence  he  was  borne  out  of  his  palace — never  more  to  return.  He  w»s 
hurried  in  silent  pomp  to  the  .Spanish  (juarters.     "  This,"  says  Helps,  "  is  an 


j6  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

unparalleled  transaction.     There  is  nothing  like  it,  I  believe,  in  the  annals  of 
the  world.'" 

Montezuma  was  received  in  the  Spanish  quarters  with  cver3-  mark  of 
high  respect.  He  was  attended  by  bis  own  domestics,  and  served  with  his 
usual  state.  His  principal  oflicers  had  free  access  to  him.  As  if  he  had  been 
at  perfect  liberty,  he  carried  on  every  "unction  of  government.  The  Cas- 
tilians,  however,  kept  a  careful  watch  over  their  royal  prisoner-guest;  but  at 
the  same  time  endeavored  to  soothe  and  reconcile  him  to  his  situation  by 
delicate  acts  of  regard  and  attachment.  Thus,  by  the  fortunate  temerity  of 
Cort<5s,  they  at  once  secured  to  themselves  more  extensive  authority  in  the 
Mexican  empire  than  it  would  be  possible  to  have  acquired  in  a  long  course 
of  time  by  open  force.  In  the  name  of  another  they  now  exercised  more 
absolute  sway  than  they  could  have  done  in  their  own. 

The  Spanish  general  did  not  hesitate  to  avail  himself  of  the  powers 
which  he  possessed  by  being  able  to  act  in  the  name  of  Montezuma.  He 
sent  some  of  his  best  qualified  officers  into  different  parts  of  the  empire, 
accompanied  by  persons  of  distinction,  whom  Montezuma  appointed  to  at- 
tend to  them,  both  as  guides  and  protectors.  They  visited  most  of  the 
provinces,  viewed  their  soil  and  productions,  they  surveyed  with  particular 
care  the  districts  which  yielded  gold  or  silver,  pitched  upon  several  places  as 
proper  points  for  future  colonies,  and  endeavored  to  prepare  the  minds  of  the 
Mexicans  for  submitting  to  Spanish  rule. 

"With  the  eye  of  thoughtful  genius  Cortes,  however,  saw  there  was  one 
thing  still  wanting  to  complete  his  security.  He  looked  ahead.  He  wished 
to  have  command  of  the  lake  which  surrounded  the  great  city.  This  would 
open  a  means  of  retreat,  if,  either  from  levity  or  disgust,  the  Mexicans  should 
take  arms  against  him,  and  break  down  the  bridges  or  causeways.  With 
him,  to  plan  was  to  accomplish.  Having  frequently  entertained  Montezuma 
with  accounts  of  ships  and  the  art  of  navigation,  he  awakened  the  latter's 
curiosity  to  see  those  moving  palaces,  which  without  oars  made  their  way 
through  the  water. 

Under  the  pretext  of  gratifying  this  desire,  Cortds  requested  Montezuma 
to  appoint  some  of  his  subjects  to  bring  to  the  city  part  of  the  naval  stores 
which  the  Spaniards  had  left  at  Vera  Cruz,  and  to  employ  others  in  cutting 
down  and  preparing  timber.  It  was  done.  And  with  Mexican  assistance, 
the  Caatilian  caroenters  soon  completed  two  brigantines.     A  new  source  of 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  77 

amusement  was  thus  afforded  to  the  dusky  monarch,  and  a  means  of  escape 
to  Cortes,  if  he  should  be  obliged  to  retire. 

The  Spanish  commander  felt  that  the  time  had  arrived  to  persuade 
Montezuma  to  give  some  public  sign  of  fealty  to  the  king  of  Spain.  It  was 
certainly  a  trying  test.  The  Mexican  monarch's  elastic  power  of  submission 
was  now  to  be  stretched  to  the  utmost.  He  called  together  the  chief  men  of 
his  empire,  and  reminded  them  in  a  solemn  speech  of  the  traditions  and 
prophecies  which  led  them  to  expect  the  arrival  of  a  people  sprung  from  the 
same  stock  as  themselves  in  order  to  take  possession  of  the  supreme  power. 
He  declared  his  belief  that  the  Spaniards  were  this  promised  race.  He  said 
he  recognized  the  right  of  their  king  to  govern  the  Mexican  empire,  and  that 
he  would  lay  down  his  crown  and  obey  the  Spanish  sovereign  as  a  tributary. 
His  grief  was  visible,  for  he  wept.  This  act  of  submission  and  homage  was 
executed  with  all  due  formality. 

Thus  yielded  the  last  native  emperor  of  Mexico.  He  had  distinguished 
himself  as  a  warrior  during  the  reign  of  his  predecessor,  and  after  his  acces- 
sion carried  the  terror  of  liis  arms  to  the  frontiers  of  Nicaragua  and  Hon- 
duras. He  was  at  the  same  time  a  member  of  the  priestly  order,  and  did  not. 
demit  Ris  functions  on  his  accession.  He  devoted  his  chief  attention  to  the 
improvement  of  the  laws,  and  of  the  internal  administration,  and  displayed 
his  taste  for  pomp  and  luxury  by  the  magnificence  of  his  household  arrange- 
ments and  a  profuse  embellishment  of  his  capital.  This  necessitated  heavy 
t2xation,  which,  combined  with  the  strictness  of  his  administration,  led  to  con- 
tinual revolts  among  his  subjects,  especially  those  who  had  lately  come  under 
his  sway.  No  doubt  this  condition  of  things  facilitated  the  marvelous  success 
of  the  Spaniards  under  Cortes,  which  ended  by  Montezuma  abdicating  his 
sovcreigntv.  Historians  have  written  pathetically  of  his  virtues  and  his  fate. 
Some  of  his  children  adopted  the  Catholic  religion,  and  his  eldest  son  re- 
ce^ed  from  Charles  V.  the  title  of  Count  of  Montezuma.  One  of  his  descen- 
dants was  viceroy  of  Mexico  from  1697  to  1701.  His  last  descendant,  Don 
Marsilio  de  Teruel,  Count  of  Montezuma,  was  banished  from  Spain  by  Ferdi- 
nand VH.,  and  afterwards  from  Mexico,  on  account  of  his  liberal  opinions, 
and  died  at  New  Orleans  in  1836. 

But  the  grand  triumph  of  Cortes,  and  that  use  of  his  power  for  which  he 
has  been  likened  to  Judas  Maccabeus,  was  in  the  destruction  of  the  hideous 
Mexican  idols,  the  cleansing  of  their  foul  temples,  and  the  stern  forbidding 


78  TRIALS  .IXD  TRIUMPHS  OT  THE 

of  }iuman   sacrifices  pny  more.     Montezuma  himself  and  many  of  his  chief 
men  were  present  at  the  tlownfall  of  tiie  idols. 

About  six  months  had  thus  passed  away  since  the  Mexican  monarch 
began  to  live  in  the  Spanish  quarters.  One  day  he  sent  for  Cort<5s.  They 
retired  to  a  room,  and  Montezuma  thus  addressed  the  Spanish  general  :  "  1 
pray  you,  take  your  departure  from  this  my  city  and  my  land,  for  my  gods 
are  very  angry  that  I  keep  you  here.  Ask  of  me  what  you  want,  and  I  will 
give  it  to  you.  Do  not  thinl<  that  I  say  this  to  you  in  any  jest,  hut  very 
much  in  earnest.  Therefore,  fulfill  my  desire,  that  so  it  may  be  done  what- 
ever may  occur." 

Cortes  was  a  man  whom  events  might  surprise,  but  never  discompose- 
"  I  have  heard  what  you  have  said,"  he  replied,  "  and  thank  you  much  for  it. 
Name  a  time  when  you  wish  us  to  depart,  and  so  it  shall  be." 

"  I  do  not  wish  you  to  hurry,"  said  the  politic  Montezuma.  "  Take  the 
time  that  seems  to  you  necessary;  and  when  you  do  go  I  will  give  to  you, 
Cortds,  two  loads  of  gold,  and  one  to  each  of  your  companions." 

"  You  are  already  well  aware,"  remarked  the  Spanish  general,  "  how  I 
destroyed  my  ships,  when  I  first  landed  in  your  territory.  But  now  we  have 
need  of  others  to  return  to  our  own  country.  I  should  be  obliged  if  you 
would  give  us  workmen  to  cut  and  work  the  timber;  and  when  the  vessels 
are  built,  we  shall  take  our  departure.  Of  this  you  can  inform  your  gods 
and  your  subjects." 

Montezuma  assented.  Mexican  workmen  were  sent  to  Vera  Cruz  under 
Spanish  oflicers.     The  building  of  ships  was  begun  in  earnest. 

From  the  day  of  this  interview,  however,  the  tone  of  the  Mexican  ruler 
towards  Corttis  was  changed.  The  Spaniards  began  to  appreciate  the  danger 
of  their  position ;  and  went  about  fully  prepared  for  a  sudden  attack  at  any 
moment.  Indeed,  this  little  body  of  men  lived  in  their  armor,  and  formed 
such  habits  of  wariness  that  years  of  peace  could  not  efface  the  watchful 
customs  which  they  had  actjuired  at  this  eventful  period  of  their  lives,  so 
much  so,  that  one  of  them  afterwards  describes  how  he  could  never  pass  a 
night  in  bed,  but  must  get  up  and  walk  about  in  the  open  air,  and  gaze  at  the 
stars.  If  such  were  the  feelings  of  the  common  soldiers,  what  must  have 
been  tne  sleepless  anxiety  of  their  commander? 

■  Only  a  few  of  those  days  of  fear  and  suspense  had  worn  away,  when 
Cortes  received  intelligence  of  a  most  perplexing  event.  Eighteen  ships  had 
arrived  in  the  Bay  of  San  Juan,  not  far  froro  his  little  colonv  of   Vera  Cruz. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  79 

It  was  alarming  news.  The  general  instantly  sent  messengers  in  various 
directions  to  glean  further  information  in  regard  to  the  ships.  At  last, 
Montezuma  informed  him  that  he  was  aware  of  the  arrival  of  the  new- 
comers. He  showed  Cortes  a  picture  of  the  force.  It  had  disembarked,  and 
consisted  of  eighty  horses,  eigjit  hundred  men,  and  ten  or  twelve  cannon. 
The  Mexican  ruler  also  intimated,  it  is  said,  that  there  was  now  no  excuse 
for  the  Spaniards  to  delay  their  return  home. 

This  formidable  armament  was  sent  by  his  former  master,  and  now 
bitter  enemy.  Governor  Velasquez  of  Cuba.  It  was  commanded  by  De 
Narvaez,  an  experienced  general;  and  his  instructions  were  to  seize  Cortds 
and  his  companions.  He  sent  a  flattering  message  to  Montezuma,  telling  him 
that  he  came  to  release  him.  He  also  sought  to  gain  the  little  garrison  at 
Vera  Cruz,  but  they  were  true  to  their  commander.  To  Cortds  the  danger 
was  imminent,  and  like  a  hero,  he  met  it  more  than  half-way. 

Leaving  a  brave  officer  named  Alvarado  in  command,  he  departed  from 
the  city  at  the  head  of  only  seventy  of  his  tried  and  trusted  followers,  and  by 
force.d  marches  pushed  on  towards  Cempoalla.  On  the  way  he  learned  that 
Narvaez  occupied  the  great  temple,  and  at  once  determined  on  a  night 
assault.  His  plans  were  laid  with  amazing  skill.  The  sentinels  were  sur- 
prised at  their  posts.  The  attack  was  bold  and  sudden,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
Narvaez  and  all  his  men  were  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  Cortds. 

The  prisoners  soon  ranged  themselves  under  the  banner  of  the  con- 
queror; and  thus  a  great  danger  was  turned  into  a  welcome  succor.  Cortes 
received  the  vanquished  troops  in  the  most  winning  manner,  and  at  once 
created  an  enthusiasm  in  his  favor.  One  of  the  soldiers  of  Narvaez — ■ 
a  negro  and  a  comical  fellow — danced  and  shouted  for  joy,  crying:  "Where 
are  the  Romans  who  with  such  small  numbers  ever  achieved  so  great  a 
victory  ? " 

Two  weeks  after  this,  a  travel-worn  courier  hurried  up  to  Cortes,  and 
communicated  most  unwelcome  intelligence.  The  Spanish  garrison  in 
Mexico,  he  said,  were  besieged  by  the  citizens,  and  were  in  extreme  peril. 
The  four  brigantines  on  the  lake  had  been  burned.  Fury  possessed  the 
barbarous  multitude.  In  short,  Alvarado  implored  his  general  for  the  love 
of  God  to  lose  no  time  in  hastening  to  his  assistance  1 

This  revolt  was  excited  by  motives  which  rendered  it  very  alarming. 
On  the  departure  of  Cortes  for  Cempoalla,  the  Mexicans  flattered  themselves 
that  the  long-expected  opportunity  of  restoring  Montezuma  to  liberty,  and  of 


8o  TRI.ILS  A.\D  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

freeing  their  country  from  the  dominion  of  the  dreaded  strangers,  was  at 
length  arrived.  The  Spanish  forces  were  divided,  and  the  general  was 
absent.  Consultations  were  held.  Many  schemes  were  formed.  The  Spaniards 
knew  their  own  feebleness,  and  suspected  and  dreaded  a  conspiracy. 

Alvarado,  though  a  gallant  officer,  possessed  neither  that  wonderful 
capacity  nor  dignity  of  manners  by  which  Cortes  had  acquired  such  an  ascend- 
ancy over  the  minds  of  the  Mexicans,  as  never  allowed  them  to  form  a  just 
estimate  of  his  weakness  or  of  their  own  strength.  Alvarado  knew  no  mode 
of  supporting  his  authority  but  force.  He  thought  of  no  means  of  persuasion 
but  his  sword.  Instead  of  employing  address  to  disconcert  the  plans,  or  to 
soothe  the  spirits  of  tlie  plotting  Mexicans,  he  waited  the  return  of  one  of 
their  solemn  pagan  festivals,  when  the  chief  persons  in  the  empire  were 
dancing,  according  to  custom,  in  the  court  of  the  great  temple.  He  attacked 
the  crowd  with  all  his  force,  and  the  massacre  was  fearful.  It  was  wild  and 
bloody  work.  The  news  of  this  event  filled  the  city  with  rage  and  fury. 
Vengeance  walked  the  streets.  The  Spaniards  were  besieged,  and  all  those 
acts  of  violence  were  committed  of  which  Cortes  received  an  account. 

The  distant  general  lost  no  time,  but,  gathering  his  men  around  him,  he 
began  his  march  for  the  capital.  At  Tlascala,  all  was  friendly.  Reviewing 
his  troops  there,  he  found  that  they  amounted  to  thirteen  hundred  soldiers, 
ninety-six  of  whom  were  horsemen,  eighty  cross-bow  men,  and  about  eighty 
musketeers.  With  this  hardy  force  he  made  rapid  strides  towards  Mexico, 
and  reached  the  city  on  the  24th  of  June,  1530.  It  was  St.  John  the  Baptist's 
Day.  He  passed  over  the  great  causeway  by  which  he  first  entered.  But 
how  changed  was  the  scene!  No  crowds  now  lined  the  roads,  no  boats 
swarmed  on  the  lake.  Over  all  brooded  a  death-like  silence.  It  was  a  stillness 
that  spoke  louder  to  the  heart  than  the  acclamations  of  multitudes! 

When  Cortes  arrived  at  his  own  quarters  he  found  the  gates  barred,  so 
strict  had  been  the  siege.  He  had  to  demand  an  entry.  Alvarado  appeared 
upon  the  battlements,  and  asked  if  Cortds  came  in  as  free  as  he  went  out,  and 
if  he  were  still  their  general.  The  commander  replied,  "  Yes,"  and  that  he 
came  with  victory  and  increased  forces.  The  gates  were  opened,  and  Cort^* 
and  his  veterans  rushed  in.    On  both  sides  the  greeting  was  most  affectionate. 

Cortes  eagerly  inquired  as  to  the  causes  of  the  revolt,  putting  many 
questions  to  Alvarado.  When  the  latter  had  concluded  his  answers,  the 
brow  of  the  commander  darkened  as  he  said  to  his  lieutenant:  "You  have 
done  badly.    You  have  been  false  to  your  trust.    Your  conduct  has  been  that 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  8 1 

of  a  madman!"     And,  turning   abruptly  on  his  heel  he  left  him  in  undis- 
guised displeasure. 

Next  day  the  whole  city  was  in  arms.  A  messenger  informed  Cortes 
that  the  draw-bridges  were  raised.  In  a  few  hours  the  surging  multitude, 
headed  by  Montezuma's  brother,  advanced  on  the  Spanish  quarters,  and 
fiercely  began  the  assault.  It  was  a  spectacle  to  appall  the  stoutest  heart. 
The  stones  fell  like  hail,  and  the  arrows  came  in  showers.  Cortes  made  two 
or  three  desperate  sallies,  but  himself  and  eighty  of  his  men  were  wounded. 
At  day-break  the  following  morning,  the  attack  was  renewed.  There 
was  no  occasion  for  the  gunners  to  take  any  particular  aim,  for  the  Mexicans 
advanced  in  such  dense  masses  that  they  could  not  be  missed.  The  gaps 
made  in  these  masses  were  instantly  filled  up.  Veterans  in  the  Spanish  army 
who  had  served  in  Italy,  France,  and  against  the  Turks,  declared  that  they 
had  never  seen  men  close  up  their  ranks  as  did  these  Mexicans  after  each 
terrible  volley  of  artillery.  They,  indeed,  often  staggered  under  the  fire,  but 
they  would  rally,  and  rush  on  to  the  very  muzzle  of  the  cannon.  Again  and 
again  Cortes  sallied  forth  against  the  bold  barbarians,  but  he  only  added  to 
the  list  of  his  wounded. 

On  the  third  day,  the  unfortunate  Montezuma,  either  at  the  request  of 
the  Spanish  general,  or  of  his  own  accord,  came  out  upon  a  battlement,  and 
addressed  the  angry  multitudes.  He  was  dressed  in  his  imperial  robes,  was 
surrounded  by  Castilian  soldiers,  and  was  at  first  received  with  honor  and 
respect  by  his  people.  He  spoke  to  them  in  loving  words,  advised  them  to  cease 
the  attack,  and  assured  them  that  the  Spaniards  would  depart  from  Mexico. 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  parley,  a  murmur  ran  through  the  crowd,  and 
a  shower  of  stones  and  arrows  flew.  For  the  moment  the  Spanish  soldiers 
had  ceased  to  protect  the  monarch  with  their  shields;  and  he  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  head  and  in  two  other  places.  He  was  borne  away.  He 
had  received  his  death-stroke.  Whether  it  came  from  the  wounds  themselves, 
or  from  the  indignity  of  being  thus  treated  by  his  people,  remains  a  doubtful 
point.  Cortes,  his  chaplain  and  officers  did  all  they  could  to  heal  his  wounds 
and  soothe  his  anguish  of  mind,  but  in  a  little  while  Montezuma  was  no  more. 
Difficulties  were  daily  thickening.  New  dangers  menaced  the  garrison. 
Opposite  the  Spanish  quarters,  at  only  a  few  rods'  distance,  stood  a  great 
pyramidal  temple.  It  rose  to  the  height  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
and  its  elevated  position  completely  commanded  the  palace  occupied  by  the 
Christians.     A  body  of  five  hundred  chosen  Mexican  nobles  and  warriors 


82  TRIALS  AND   TRIUMI'IIS  OF  THE 

threw   themselves  into  this  lofty  structure,  and   galled   the   Spaniards  with 
temiaests  of  arrows.     To  dislodge  this  new  enemy  was  absolutely  necessary. 

The  general  sent  one  of  his  best  oflicers  to  take  this  position,  hut  the 
Spanish  soldiers  were  twice  repulsed.  Cortes,  though  wounded,  determined 
to  lead  the  attack  in  person.  He  placed  some  of  his  troops  at  the  base  of  tlic 
temple,  and  began  the  difficult  and  dangerous  ascent.  The  Spaniards,  after  a 
terrible  combat,  gained  the  summit,  dislodged  their  enemies  from  that  gidd)' 
height,  and  drove  them  down  upon  the  lower  terraces.  Then  might  be  seen 
the  Indian  priests  running  to  and  fro,  with  their  hair  clotted  and  bloody, 
and  wildly  streaming  over  their  sable  mantles.  Hovering  in  mid-air,  they 
seemed  like  so  many  demons  of  darkness  urging  on  the  work  of  slaughter. 
But  every  one  of  the  Mexicans  were  jjut  to  the  sword. 

The  victory  in  the  temple  was  a  momentary  gleam  of  success  for  the 
Spanish  arms.  It  afforded  Cort«5s  an  opportunity  to  resume  peace  negotia- 
tions. But  the  savage  determination  of  the  Mexicans  was  complete.  In  vain 
did  the  Spanish  general  press  them  to  consider  the  havoc  he  was  daily 
making  among  the  citizens.  They  were  aware  of  it,  was  the  reply,  but  they 
would  all  perish,  if  that  were  needful,  to  gain  their  point  of  utterly  destroying 
the  Spaniards. 

The  enraged  multitudes  bade  Cortes  to  look  at  the  streets,  squares  and 
terraces,  and  then,  in  a  business-like  way,  they  solemnly  assured  him  that  if 
25,000  Mexicans  were  to  die  for  each  Spaniard,  still  the  Spaniards  would 
perish  first.  These  furious  barbarians  jeeringly  called  his  attention  to  the 
fact  that  all  the  causeways  were  destroyed,  and  that  hunger  and  thirst  were 
already  staring  the  Spaniards  in  the  very  face.  "In  truth,"  writes  Cortds 
himself,  "they  had  much  reason  in  what  they  said,  for  if  we  had  no  other 
enemy  to  fight  against  but  hunger,  it  was  sufficient  to  destroy  us  all  in  a 
short  time!" 

It  generally  requires  as  much  courage  to  retreat  as  to  advance,  and  few 
leaders  have  the  ready  wisdom  to  retreat  in  time.  But  Cortes,  on  finding 
that  it  was  impossible  to  hold  his  position,  lost  no  time  or  energy  in  parleying 
with  danger.     That  very  night  he  resolved  to  quit  Mexico. 

At  midnight  the  troops  were  under  arms,  in  readiness  for  the  march. 
Mass  was  celebrated  by  the  venerable  Father  Olmedo,  who  invoked  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Almighty  on  the  little  army.  The  gates  were  thrown  open, 
and  July  i,  1520,  the  Spaniards  for  the  last  time  sallied  forth  from  the 
walls  of  the  ancient  fortress,  the  scene  of  so  much  suffering  and  such   indomi- 


C.lTllOIJC  ailRCH  IX  AMnRICA  83 

table  courage.  The  force  began  to  move  in  three  divisions.  The  brave  and 
y(jutiiful  Sandoval  led  the  van.  Alvarado  brought  up  the  rear-guard.  Cortes 
himself  commaiideil  in  the  center,  where  he  placed  the  prisoners,  among 
whom  were  a  son  and  two  daughters  of  Montezuma,  together  with  several 
Mexicans  of  distinction,  the  artillery,  baggage,  and  a  portable  bridge  of  tim- 
ber, intended  to  be  thrown  over  the  breaches  in  the  causeway.  They  marched 
in  jjrofountl  silence  along  the  shortest  causeway,  and  had  reached  the  first 
breach  in  it  before  their  retreat  seemed  to  be  discovered.  In  a  moment  the 
alarm  was  given. 

Loud  shouts  antl  blowing  of  horns  were  heard  in  all  directions.  "Come 
out  quickly  in  your  canoes,"  yelled  the  frantic  Mexicans.  "  The  ieitfes  are 
going.  Cut  them  off  at  the  bridges!"  The  lake  was  soon  covered  with 
canoes.  It  rained,  and  the  misfortunes  of  the  night  began  by  two  horses 
slipping  from  the  pontoon  into  the  water.  Flights  of  arrows  and  showers  of 
stones  poured  in  upon  the  Spaniards  from  every  quarter.  The  wild  barbarians 
rushed  forward  to  the  charge  with  fearless  impetuosity,  as  if  they  hoped  in 
that  moment  to  take  full  vengeance  for  the  past. 

Unfortunately  the  wooden  bridge,  by  the  weight  of  the  artillery,  got 
wedged  so  fast  into  the  stones  and  mud,  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  troops 
to  remove  it.  This  accident  caused  dismay,  and  the  Spaniards  advanced  with 
naste  towards  the  second  breach.  But  the  Mexicans  hemmed  them  in  on 
every  side,  and  though  they  defended  themselves  with  all  the  bravery  of 
skilled  and  desperate  soldiers,  yet,  crowded  together  as  they  were  on  a  narrow 
causeway,  their  discipline  and  military  science  were  of  little  avail;  nor  did 
the  darkness  of  the  night  permit  them  to  derive  any  great  advantage  from 
their  fire-arms,  or  the  superiority  of  their  other  weapons.  The  position  was 
truly  appalling ! 

The  whole  city  was  now  in  arms,  and  so  eager  were  the  excited  multi- 
tudes for  the  destruction  of  the  Spaniards,  that  those  who  were  not  near 
enough  to  annoy  them  in  person,  impatient  of  delay,  pressed  forward  witli 
such  ardor  as  drove  on  their  countrymen  in  the  front  with  irresistible  violence. 
Fiesh  warriors  instantly  filled  the  place  of  such  as  fell.  The  Castilians  were 
weary  with  slaughter,  and,  unable  any  longer  to  sustain  the  weight  of  the 
'orrent  that  poured  in  upon  them,  began  to  give  way.  In  a  moment  all  was 
confusion.  Horse  and  foot,  officers  and  soldiers,  friends  ant!  enemies  were 
mingled  together.  And  while  all  fought,  and  many  fell,  scarcely  any  could 
ilistinguish  from  what  hand  the  blow  came. 


54  •  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

In  a  very  short  time  the  water  was  full  of  dead  horses,  Indians,  Spaniards, 
oaggage,  prisoners  and  artillery.  On  every  side  the  most  piteous  cries  were 
neard — "Help  me!  I  drown!"  "  Rescue  me!  they  are  killing  me!"  Prayers 
to  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin  and  St.  James  were  mingled  with  the  groans  of 
the  dying  and  shouts  of  desperate  warriors. 

At  the  second  bridge-way  a  single  beam  only  was  found.  It  was,  of 
course,  useless  for  the  horses;  but  the  watchful  genius  of  Cortes  found  a 
shallow  place  where  the  water  did  not  reach  further  than  up  to  the  saddle. 
Here  he  passed  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
main-land.  The  foot  soldiers  also  contrived  in  some  way  to  follow.  The 
general  left  the  van  guard  and  his  own  division  safe  on  shore,  and  returned 
to  give  what  assistance  he  could  to  the  unfortunate  men  who  were  still  benind. 
But  few  of  the  rear-guard  escaped.  It  is  told  as  a  wonder  of  Alvarado, 
that,  coming  '.:  the  last  bridge,  he  made  a  leap — which  by  many  has  been 
deemed  impossible — and  cleared  the  vast  opening.  On  coming  up  to  him, 
Cortes  found  that  his  lieutenant  was  accompanied  by  only  seven  Spaniards 
and  eight  Tlascalans,  all  covered  with  blood  and  wounds.  They  told  their 
commander  that  it  was  useless  to  go  further.  All  who  remained  alive  were 
with  them! 

On  hearing  this  the  general  turned  back.  It  was  not  yet  day-breaK,  but 
the  small  and  melancholy  band  of  Spaniards  pushed  on,  Cortes  protecting 
the  rear.  Morning  soon  dawned,  and  he  reviewed  the  shattered  remains  of 
nis  heroic  little  army.  The  remembrance  of  so  many  faithful  friends  and 
gallant  followers  who  had  fallen  in  that  night  of  sorrow  pierced  his  soul 
with  anguish.  It  is  said  that  he  sat  down  on  a  stone  and  wept  at  the  sad 
sight.  But  as  the  country  was  aroused  against  them,  the  exhausted  veterans 
did  not  rest  till  they  had  fortified  themselves  in  a  temple  on  a  hill  at  some 
distance  from  Mexico.  A  church  was  afterwards  built  here,  and  very  appro- 
priately dedicated  to  Nuestra  Senora  de  los  Remedios — Our  Lady  of  Refuge. 
In  this  disastrous  flight  all  the  artillery  and  forty-six  horses  were  lost, 
eight  hundred  and  seventy  Spaniards  perished,  and  four  thousand  of  the 
Indian  allies  were  killed,  including  one  son  and  two  daughters  of  Montezuma. 
A  loss  which  posterity  will  ever  regret  was  that  of  the  books,  memorials  and 
writings.  These,  it  is  said,  contained  a  narrative  of  all  that  had  happened 
since  Cortes  left  Cuba. 

The  Spaniards  now  took  the  road  for  Tlascala,  the  only  place  where 
they  could  hope  for  a  friendly  reception.     It  was  about  sixty-four  miles  east 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IS  AMERICA  85 

of  the  city  of  Mexico.  Day  after  day  they  marched  on  through  a  savage  and 
hostile  country,  always  fighting  and  always  encumbered  with  enemies. 
Numerous  bodies  of  Mexicans  continued  to  hover  around  them,  sometimes 
harassing  them  at  a  distance  with  flights  of  stones  and  arrows,  and  sometimes 
attacking  them  closely  in  front,  in  rear,  in  flank,  and  always  with  great  bold- 
ness, as  they  knew  that  the  Castilians  were  not  invincible. 

Nor  were  the  fatigue  and  dangers  of  those  incessant  conflicts  the  worst 
evils  to  which  the  troops  were  exposed.  As  the  barren  country  through 
which  they  passed  afforded  scarcely  any  provisions,  they  were  reduced  to 
feed  on  berries,  roots,  and  stalks  of  green  maize;  and  at  the  very  time  that 
famine  was  thus  depressing  their  spirits  and  wasting  their  strength,  their 
situation  required  the  most  vigorous  and  unceasing  exertions  of  courage  and 
activity. 

But  amid  those  numberless  distresses,  one  circumstance  supported  and 
animated  the  sorely-tried  Spaniards.  It  was  the  genius  of  their  dauntless 
commander.  He  sustained  this  sad  reverse  of  fortune  with  unshaken  magna- 
nimity. His  presence  of  mind  never  forsook  him.  His  keen  sagacity  foresaw 
every  event,  and  his  vigilance  provided  for  it.  He  was  foremost  in  every 
danger,  and  endured  every  hardship  with  heroic  cheerfulness.  The  difficulties 
by  which  he  was  surrounded  seemed  to  call  forth  new  gifts;  and  his  soldiers, 
though  despairing  themselves,  continued  to  follow  him  with  increasing  con- 
fidence in  his  matchless  abilities. 

On  the  sixth  day  they  arrived  near  Otumba,  a  valley  not  far  from  the 
boundary  line  between  Mexico  and  Tlascala.  Early  next  morning  they 
pushed  on,  flying  parties  of  the  enemy  still  hanging  on  the  rear,  and  occasion- 
ally shouting:  "Go  on,  robbers.  Go  to  the  place  where  you  shall  quickly 
meet  the  vengeance  due  to  your  crimes!" 

The  Spaniards  did  not  conqirehend  the  meaning  of  this  threat  until  they 
reached  the  summit  of  the  mountain  steeps  which  shut  in  the  valley  of 
Otumba.  Below  was  a  sight  that  might,  in  truth,  arouse  fear  in  the  breast  of 
the  bravest  cavalier.  A  vast  army  of  Mexicans  extended  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  The  forces  of  the  empire  had  been  hastily  collected  at  this  spot 
to  dispute  the  passage  of  the  Christians.  Every  chief  of  note  had  taken  the 
field  with  his  whole  array  gathered  under  his  standard,  proudly  displaying  all 
the  pomp  and  rude  splendor  of  his  military  equipment. 

It  was  a  spectacle  to  fill  the  stoutest  heart  among  the  Spaniards  with 
dismay,  heightened  by  the  previous  expectation  of  soon  reaching  the  friendly 


86  TRI.II.S  .IXD  rRIUMPMS  OF  THE 

land  which  was  to  terminate  their  weary  pilgrimage.  Even  Cortes,  as  he 
contrasted  the  tremendous  array  before  him  with  his  own  diminished  squad- 
rons, wasted  by  disease,  and  enfeebled  by  hunger  and  fatigue,  could  not 
escape  the  conviction  that  his  last  hour  had  arrived.  But  his  was  not  the  heart 
to  quail  before  danger,  and  he  gathered  strength  from  the  very  extremity 
of  his  situation. 

He  addressed  a  few  words  to  his  troops.  He  reminded  them  of  the 
victories  they  had  won  against  fearful  odds;  and  remarked  that  numbers 
were  of  no  account  when  heaven  was  on  their  side.  All  then  earnestly 
commended  themselves  to  the  protection  of  God,  the  Immaculate  Virgin,  and 
St.  James;  and  Cortes  led  his  brave  battalions  straight  against  the  hosts  of 
Mexico.     Every  man  felt  that  it  must  now  be  death  or  victory. 

The  charge  of  the  cavalry  with  the  general  at  its  head  was  irresistible. 
It  penetrated  and  dispersed  the  most  numerous  divisions  of  the  enemy.  The 
infantry  fought  like  lions.  But  while  the  Mexicans  gave  way  in  one  quarter, 
fresh  combatants  advanced  from  another;  and  the  Spaniards,  though  success- 
ful in  every  attack,  were  ready  to  sink  under  these  repeated  efforts,  without 
seeing  any  end  to  their  toil,  or  any  hope  of  victory.  The  contest  had  now 
lasted  several  hours.  High  the  sun  rose  in  the  heavens,  and  shed  an  intoler- 
able heat  over  the  plain.  The  tide  of  battle  was  setting  rapidly  against  the 
Christians;  and  all  that  remained  for  them  seemed  to  be  to  sell  their  lives  as 
dearly  as  possible. 

At  this  critical  moment,  Cortes,  whose  restless  eye  had  been  roving 
around  the  field  in  quest  of  any  object  that  might  offer  him  the  means  of 
arresting  the  coming  ruin,  rising  in  his  stirrups,  descried  at  a  distance,  in  the 
midst  of  the  throng,  the  chief  who  from  his  dress  and  military  cortege,  he 
knew  must  be  the  commander  of  *:he  barbarian  forces.  The  eagle  glance  of 
the  general  no  sooner  fell  on  tiiit  personage  than  a  glow  of  triumph  lit  up  his 
countenance. 

He  turned  quickly  to  the  cavaliers  at  his  side — among  whom  were  San- 
doval and  Alvarado — and  pointed  out  the  chief,  exclaiming:  "There  is  our 
mark!  follow  and  support  me!"  Then  crying  his  war-cry,  and  striking  his 
iron  heel  into  his  weary  steed,  he  plunged  headlong  into  the  thickest  of  the 
press.  His  enemies  fell  back,  taken  by  surprise  and  daunted  by  the  ferocity 
of  the  attack.  Those  who  did  not  were  pierced  through  with  his  lance  or 
borne  down  by  the  weight  of  his  charger.  The  cavaliers  followed  close  in 
the  rear.     On  they  swept  with  the  fury  of  a  thunderbolt,  cleaving  the  solid 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  87 

ranks  asunder,  strewing  their  paths  with  the  dying  and  the  dead,  and  bound- 
ing over  every  obstacle  in  their  way.  In  a  few  minutes  they  were  in  the 
presence  of  the  Indian  commander,  and  Cortes,  overturning  his  supporters, 
sprang  forward  with  the  strength  of  a  lion,  and  striking  him  through  with 
his  lance,  hurled  him  to  the  ground.  The  imperial  standard  was  captured. 
It  was  all  the  work  of  a  moment. 

When  the  Mexican  leader  fell,  and  the  standard,  towards  which  all 
directed  their  eyes,  disappeared,  a  general  panic  seized  the  Indians,  and,  as  if 
the  bond  which  held  them  together  had  been  dissolved,  every  ensign  was 
lowered,  each  dusky  warrior  threw  away  his  weapons,  and  all  fled  with  the 
utmost  precipitation  to  the  mountains.  The  Spaniards,  unable  to  pursue  them 
far,  returned  to  collect  the  spoils  of  the  field,  which  were  so  valuable  as  to  be 
some  compensation  for  their  toil  and  for  the  wealth  which  they  had  lost  in 
the  city  of  Mexico,  Next  day,  to  their  great  joy,  they  entered  the  Tlascalan 
territories. 

The  Tlascalan  chiefs  came  out  to  meet  the  hardy  veterans,  and  instead  of 
showing  any  coldness,  they  labored  to  console  Cort<5s  in  his  misfortune. 
"Oh,  Malinche,  Malinche" — which  was  the  name  the  Indians  gave  to  Cortf5s 
— they  said,  "how  it  grieves  us  to  hear  of  your  losses  and  your  sorrows. 
Have  we  not  told  you  many  times,  that  you  should  not  trust  in  those  Mexican 
people?  But  now  the  thing  is  done,  and  nothing  more  remains  at  present 
but  to  refresh  you  and  to  cure  you."  The  noble  kindness  of  these  good  allies 
fell  like  a  blessing  on  the  wounded,  way-worn  Spaniards. 

In  such  circumstances  almost  any  other  coinmander  but  Cort(5s  would 
have  been  thoroughly  cast  down.  But  the  elastic  spirit  of  this  modern  Han- 
nibal was  untouched,  and  he  beheld  the  star  of  hope  shining  as  brightly  as 
ever  on  his  checkered  pathway.  While  his  enemies,  and  even  many  of  his 
own  followers,  considered  the  disasters  which  had  befallen  him  as  fatal  to  the 
progress  of  his  arms,  and  imagined  that  nothing  now  remained  but  speedily 
to  abandon  a  country  which  he  had  invaded  with  unccjual  force,  his  bokl  and 
lofty  mind — as  eminent  for  perseverance  as  for  enterprise — was  still  bent  on 
accomplishing  his  original  purpose  of  subjecting  the  Mexican  empire  to  the 
crown  of  Castile,  and  of  planting  the  cross  on  the  pagan  towers  of  its  beauti- 
ful capital ! 

In  the  face  of  countless  obstacles,  his  genius  formed  in  a  few  months  a 
great  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  against  the  Mexicans.  He  wished  to 
render  an  attack  on  that  nation  not  only  a  splendid  and  chivalrous  event,  but 


88  TRIALS  .-IXn  TRIVMPHS  OP  TUP. 

ail  enterprise  entirely  consistent  with  the  rules  of  that  prutlence  into  which 
the  valor  of  Cortiis  was  welded  as  the  blade  of  the  sword  is  to  its  handle. 
He  created  and  equipped  a  new  army,  and  with  wonderful  foresight  he  gave 
orders  for  brigantines  to  be  constructed  in  separate  pieces  at  Tlascala. 

On  the  day  after  Christmas,  the  general  reviewed  his  troops.  He 
found  that  they  consisted  of  forty  horsemen  and  five  hundred  and  hfty  foot 
soldiers.  He  had  also  eight  or  nine  cannon,  but  very  little  gunpowder.  He 
made  a  touching  and  eloquent  address,  reminding  his  veterans  that  they  were 
going  on  a  war  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  Catholic  Faith,  and  their 
native  land.  He  begged  them  to  observe  certain  rules  which  he  laid  down 
for  the  good  government  of  the  army,  one  of  which  was  that  no  man  should 
blaspheme  the  holy  name  of  God.  Two  days  after  this,  the  gallant  band 
of  Spaniards  set  out  on  the  march  for  the  city  of  Mexico,  accompanied  by 
100,000  Tlascalans. 

On  coming  near  the  capital,  Cortes  sent  a  message  of  peace  to  the 
authorities.  He  assured  them  that  he  did  not  desire  war,  although  he  had 
much  cause  for  offense.  He  wished  to  be  their  friend,  as  he  had  been  in 
other  days.  "  Let  the  past  be  past,"  he  concluded,  "  and  do  not  give  me 
occasion  to  destroy  your  lands  and  cities,  which  I  should  much  regret." 
This  peaceful  offer,  however,  led  to  no  result,  and  he  resolved  to  besiege  the 
city.     But  his  enemies  were  well  prepared. 

Nor  was  Cort(5s  the  leader  to  begin  such  a  dangerous  and  difficult  enter- 
prise unprepared.  He  at  once  dispatched  the  brave  Sandoval  to  Tlascala  for 
the  materials  of  the  brigantines.  The  men  appointed  to  carry  these  materials 
were  8,000.  Another  body  of  2,000  was  to  furnish  a  relief  for  the  bearers, 
and  to  carry  provisions.  The  whole  was  guarded  by  an  escort  of  20,000 
armed  men.  The  march  was  thus  arranged:  In  front  came  eight  Spanish 
horsemen  and  one  hundred  Spanish  foot,  then  10,000  Tlascalans  formed  an 
advance  guard,  with  wings  thrown  out  to  the  right  and  the  left.  The  center 
was  taken  up  by  the  bearers  of  the  rigging  and  cordage,  and  the  carriers  of 
the  timber  and  iron-work.  The  whole  line  of  march  was  closed  by  eight  more 
Spanish  horsemen,  a  hundred  Spanish  foot,  and  10,000  Tlascalans,  under  the 
command  of  a  noted  warrior.  From  the  van-guard  to  the  rear-guard 
was  six  miles  in  length.  This  vast  procession  advanced  leisurely,  but  in 
excellent  order;  and  in  a  few  days  Cortes  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the 
materials  of  a  fleet  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  which  surrounded  ine  city  of 
Mexico 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  gq 

Preparations  for  the  siege  were  now  pushed  on  vigorously.  The  brigan- 
tines  were  soon  completed,  and  the  day  for  launching  them  arrived.  Cortds 
resolved  that  so  auspicious  an  event  should  be  celebrated  with  due  solemnity. 
On  the  28th  of  April  the  troops  were  drawn  up  under  arms.  Mass  was 
celebrated,  and  the  general,  together  with  every  man  in  the  army,  went  to 
confession,  and  devoutly  received  Holy  Communion.  Prayers  were  offered 
up  by  Father  Olmedo,  and  a  benediction  invoked  on  the  little  navy,  the  first 
— worthy  of  the  name — ever  launched  on  American  waters.  The  signal 
was  given  by  the  firing  of  a  cannon;  and  as  the  vessels,  one  after  another, 
rode  forth  on  the  ample  bosom  of  the  lake,  with  music  sounding,  and  the 
royal  ensign  of  Castile  proudly  floating  from  their  masts,  a  shout  of  admira- 
tion arose  from  the  countless  multitude  of  spectators,  which  mingled  with 
the  roar  of  artillery  and  musketry  from  the  vessels  and  the  shore.  To  the 
simple  natives  it  was  a  novel  spectacle.  It  even  touched  the  stern  hearts  of 
the  conquerors  with  a  glow  of  rapture,  and  as  they  felt  that  heaven  had 
blessed  their  imdertnking,  they  broke  forth  by  general  accord  into  the  noble 
anthem  of  the  7e  Dciim. 

Cortds  formed  his  troops  into  three  divisions,  for  the  attack  on  the  city 
was  to  be  made  from  three  different  quarters.  To  Alvarado  was  given  the 
command  of  thirty  horsemen,  eighteen  musketeers,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men  with  sword  and  buckler.  This  division  was  accompanied  by  20,000 
Tlascalan  warriors. 

Olid's  division  consisted  of  thirty-three  horsemen,  eighteen  musketeers, 
and  one  hundred  and  sixty  swordsmen.  A  body  of  20,000  Indian  allies 
accompanied  this  force. 

Sandoval  had  under  his  command  twentj'-four  horsemen,  seventeen  mus- 
keteers, and  one  hundred  and  fifty  swordsmen.  Over  30,000  Indian  allies 
supported  this  division. 

About  three  hundred  men  were  left  to  man  the  brigantines — most  of 
them  good  seamen.  Each  vessel  iiad  twentv-fi've  men,  with  six  musketeers. 
Cortds  took  command  of  the  fleet  himself;  for,  as  he  afterwards  remarked, 
"  the  key  of  the  whole  war  was  in  the  ships." 

A  minute  description  of  this  historic  siege  may  not  here  be  expected. 
Its  incidents  by  Hood  and  field  are  among  the  most  terrible  and  romantic  on 
record.  At  one  time  the  little  fleet  is  attacked  by  500  canoes;  but  the  defeat 
of  the  Mexicans  on  the  water  was  swift  and  signal.  From  that  day  Cortds 
remained  master  of  the  lake. 


go  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

The  Mexicans  exhibited  desperate  valor.  Each  morning  the  Spaniards 
began  the  attack  anew.  But  week  after  week  the  siege  continued.  On  land 
and  water,  by  day  and  night,  one  furious  conflict  succeeded  another.  Cortds, 
on  one  occasion,  stormed  the  city  with  his  whole  force,  but  was  repulsed 
with  heavy  loss,  and  came  near  being  captured,  as  he  was  severely  wounded. 
Six  Mexican  captains  suddenl}'  seized  him,  and  were  hurrying  him  off,  when 
two  of  his  bravest  officers  rescued  the  general  at  the  cost  of  their  own  lives. 
The  barbarians  were  flushed  with  triumph,  and  at  this  time  many  a  poor 
Spaniard  was  sacrificed  to  the  hideous  god  of  war. 

The  Spaniards,  after  bravery  perhaps  unmatched  in  the  annals  of  war, 
finally  succeeded  in  penetrating  to  the  vast  square  in  the  center  of  the  great 
city,  and  there  made  a  secure  lodgment.  The  fighting  was  truly  awful,  ana 
ghastly  were  the  sights  after  each  conflict.  On  one  occasion  12,000  Mexicans 
were  killed ;  and  the  day  before  the  last  of  the  siege,  it  is  stated  that  no  fewer 
than  40,000  Mexicans  were  slain,  or  taken  prisoners. 

The  final  day  of  Mexico  had  come.  The  situation  of  the  besieged  grew 
so  desperate  that  the  new  monarch  tried  to  escape,  but  was  captured  by  the 
Spaniards.  Cortds  received  him  with  much  courtesy.  The  Mexican  ruler 
probably  knew  the  person  of  the  conqueror,  for  he  broke  silence  by  saying: 
"  I  have  done  all  that  I  could  to  defend  myself  and  my  people.  I  am  now 
reduced  to  this  state.     You  will  deal  with  me,  Malinche,  as  you  please." 

"  Fear  not,"  replied  the  great  and  kind-hearted  general.  "  You  shall  be 
treated  with  all  honor.  You  have  defended  your  capital  like  a  brave  warrior. 
A  Spaniard  knows  how  to  respect  valor  even  in  an  enemy." 

The  sovereign  being  captured,  all  further  opposition  ceased.  The  whole 
city  was  taken.  Sixty  thousand"  Mexicans  laid  down  their  arms.  This 
memorable  day  in  the  annals  of  American  history  was  August  13,  1521. 
The  siege  lasted  seventy-five  days.  Its  fearful  results  cannot  be  better  given 
than  in  the  simple  words  of  an  eye-witness.  "  It  is  true,"  writes  Bernal 
Diaz,  "  and  I  swear.  Amen,  that  all  the  lake  and  the  houses  and  the  baracans 
were  full  of  the  bodies  and  heads  of  dead  men,  so  that  I  do  not  know  how  I 
may  describe  it.  For  in  the  streets  and  in  the  very  courts  there  were  no 
other  things,  and  we  could  not  walk  except  among  the  bodies  and  heads  of 
slain  Indians.  I  have  read  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem;  but  whether 
there  was  such  a  mortality  in  that  I  do  not  know." 

Thus  fell  the  great  city  of  Mexico. 

It  wng.  in  truth,  a  time  for  thanksgiving.     A  procession  of  the   whole 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  ^I 

army  was  formed  with  Father  Olmedo  at  its  head.  The  soiled  and  tattered 
banners  of  Castile,  which  had  waved  over  many  a  field  of  battle,  now  threw 
their  shadows  on  the  peaceful  array  of  the  soldiery,  as  they  slowly  moved 
along,  rehearsing  the  Litany,  and  displaying  the  image  of  the  Holy  Virgin, 
and  the  blessed  symbol  of  man's  redemption.  The  Reverend  Father  pro- 
nounced a  discourse,  in  which  he  briefly  reminded  the  troops  of  their  great 
cause  of  thankfulness  to  heaven,  and  ended  by  calling  on  them  to  "conduct 
themselves  like  Catholic  Christians,  that  so  God  might  continue  to  favor 
them."  Cortes  and  his  chief  officers  received  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  the 
services  concluded  with  a  solemn  thanksgiving  to  the  God  of  battles,  who 
had  enabled  them  to  carry  the  banner  of  the  cross  triumphant  over  this  bar- 
baric empire. 

We  can  merely  glance  at  the  subsequent  career  of  the  illustrious  con- 
queror of  Mexico.  In  Spain  he  had  bitter  enemies.  But  in  spite  of  every 
opposition,  his  acts  were  confirmed  in  their  full  extent;  and  his  commission 
as  captain-general  and  chief  justice  of  Mexico,  was  signed  by  the  Emperor 
Charles  V,  in  October,  1522. 

In  less  than  four  years  from  the  destruction  of  Mexico,  a  new  city  had 
risen  on  its  ruins,  which,  if  inferior  to  the  ancient  capital  in  extent,  surpassed 
it  in  magnificence  and  strength.  Great  alterations,  of  course,  took  place  in 
the  fashion  of  the  architecture.  On  the  site  of  the  famous  temple  of  the  god 
of  war  arose  the  stately  cathedral ;  and,  as  if  to  complete  the  triumphs  of  the 
cross,  the  foundations  were  laid  with  the  broken  images  of  the  Mexican  idols. 

The  conversion  of  the  natives  was  an  object  of  which  Cortes  never  lost 
sight.  In  one  of  his  reports  to  the  emperor,  dated  1524,  he  says  that,  "as 
many  times  as  I  have  written  to  your  Sacred  Majesty,  I  have  told  yom-  High- 
ness of  the  readiness  which  there  is  in  some  of  the  natives  to  receive  our 
Holy  Catholic  faith,  and  become  Christians.  And  I  have  sent  to  supplicate 
your  Imperial  Majesty  that  you  would  have  the  goodness  to  provide  for  that 
end  religious  persons  of  good  life  and  example." 

In  obedience  to  these  suggestions,  twelve  Franciscan  fathers  embarked 
for  Mexico,  which  they  reached  early  in  1524.  The  presence  of  these  meu 
of  God  in  the  country  was  greeted  with  general  rejoicing.  The  inhabitants  ol 
the  towns  through  which  they  passed  came  out  in  a  body  to  welcome  them 
processions  were  formed  of  the  natives,  bearing  wax  tapers  in  their  hands, 
and  the  bells  of  the  churches  rang  out  a  joyous  peal  in  honor  of  their  arrival. 
On  entering  the  capital,  they  were  met  by  a  brilliant  cavalcade  of  the  princi- 


92  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  TIfE 

pal  cavaliers  and  citizens,  with  Coitd-s  at  their  head.  The  general,  dismount- 
ing, and  bending  one  knee  to  the  ground,  kissed  the;  robes  of  Father  Martin 
of  Valencia,  the  superior  of  this  band  of  apostles.  The  natives  were  filled 
with  astonishment  at  the  viceroy's  profound  reverence  towards  men  whose 
naked  feet  and  tattered  garments  gave  them  the  aspect  of  mendicants,  and 
henceforth  regarded  them  as  beings  of  a  superior  nature.  The  Indian  chron. 
icier  of  Tlascala  does  not  conceal  his  admiration  at  this  edifying  condescension 
of  Cortds,  which  he  pronounces  "one  of  the  most  heroic  acts  of  his  life." 

The  missionaries  lost  no  time  in  the  good  work  of  conversion.  They 
began  their  preaching  through  interpreters,  until  they  had  acquired  a  com- 
petent knowledge  of  the  language  themselves.  They  opened  schools  and 
founded  colleges,  in  which  the  native  youth  were  instructed  in  profane  as 
well  as  Christian  learning.  The  ardor  of  the  Indian  neophyte  emulated  that 
of  his  teacher.  In  a  few  years  every  vestige  of  the  primitive  teocallis  was 
effaced  from  the  land.  Father  Toribio  states  that  twenty  years  after  the 
conquest  there  were  9,000,000  of  Catholic  Indians  in  the  empire.  In  1527 
Mexico  received  her  first  bishop  in  the  person  of  Julian  Garces,  Bishop  of 
Tlascala.  The  city  of  Mexico  became  a  see  in  1530,  the  first  bishop  being 
the  Rt.  Rev.  John  de  Zumarraga,  who  has  had  a  long  line  of  zealous  and  holy 
successors. 

The  whole  Mexican  nation  was  now  completely  subjected,  for  though 
some  attempts  at  revolt  were  afterwards  made,  they  were  soon  crushed  by  the 
conqueror,  and  Cortes  abundantly  proved  that  he  could  govern  a  great  empire 
as  well  as  vanquish  it. 

In  1528,  Cortes  returned  to  Spain  to  meet  some  calumnies  against  him, 
and  was  received  with  marked  distinction.  On  his  return  to  Mexico,  how- 
ever, two  years  later,  he  was  divested  of  much  of  his  authority.  He  fitted 
out  several  expeditions  at  his  own  expense,  and  discovered  California.  In 
1540,  he  again  returned  to  his  native  land,  but  was  coldly  received  at  court, 
from  which  he  soon  retired,  and  prepared  for  his  end  at  a  little  village  near 
Seville.  He  received  the  last  sacraments  with  devotion,  and  died  on  the  2d 
of  December,  1547,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years. 

The  conqueror  of  Mexico  was  one  of  the  most  gifted  men  in  all  history. 
His  life  was  far  from  faultless,  but  his  career  is  marked  by  dazzling  splendor. 
He  was  certainly  a  great  general.  He  stands  without  a  peer  the  first  military 
genius  the  New  World  has  yet  seen.  He  was  a  great  explorer  and  discoverer. 
He  was  a  statesman  of  the  first  order.     His   letters,   written    with    manly 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  q3 

strength  and  simple  elegance,  give  him  an  honorable  rank  in  literature.  He 
was  charitable  and  sincerely  religious.  He  always  felt  that  he  was  a  Catholic 
soldier  of  the  Cross;  and  that  the  most  brilliant  of  his  achievements  consisted 
in  planting  the  blessed  sign  of  man's  redemption  over  the  blood-stained  tem- 
ples of  pagan  Mexico. 

"  He  preferred,"  writes  the  brave  Bernal  Diaz,  one  of  his  companions- 
in-arms;  "to  be  called  Cortes  by  us,  to  being  called  by  any  title;  and  with 
good  reason,  for  the  name  of  Cortds  is  as  famous  in  our  day  as  was  that  of 
Caesar  among  the  Romans,  or  of  Hannibal  among  the  Carthaginians." 

And  elsewhere  says  this  old  chronicler:  "It  was  perhaps  intended  that 
he  should  receive  his  recompense  in  a  better  world,  and  I  fully  believe  it;  for 
he  was  a  good  cavalier,  most  true  in  his  devotions  to  the  Holy  Virgin,  to  the 
Apostle  St.  Peter,  and  to  all  the  other  Saints.  May  God  pardon  his  sins,  and 
mine,  too,  and  give  me  a  pious  end,  which  is  of  more  concern  than  the  con-' 
quests  and  victories  that  we  had  over  the  Indians." 


Cbapteit  V. 


In  The  Soutbettn  Continent 


AMERICUS  THE  Explorer.— Columbus  Gives  a  Testimonial.— Naming  op  a  Con- 
TiNENT.— Ideas  on  Circling  the  Globe. — Prayer  on  the  Path  of  Dis- 
covery. —  Magellan  Rounds  Cape  Horn.  —  Among  Savage  Islanders.— 
PizARRO  THE  Conqueror.— In  the  Land  of  the  Incas.— Fighting  near 
THE  Andes.— Murder  of  a  Brave  Commander. — The  Church. 


^URNING  our  attention  now  to  the  southern  portion  of  this  conti- 
nent— or  what  is  geograpliically  known  as  South  America — we 
find  that  discovery  and  conquest  here  followed  each  other  in  a 
similar  manner.  As  already  stated  in  the  sketch  of  Oj6da,  that 
adventurer  had  for  companion  on  his  fourth  voyage  one  Amerigo 
(or  Americus)  Vespucci,  who  was  a  Florentine  by  birth  and  a 
gentleman  of  some  means  and  education.  This  was  in  the  year  1499;  and  it 
is  supposed  that  Vespucci  aided  the  expedition  to  the  extent  of  fitting  out  one 
of  the  four  vessels.  After  coasting  along  the  northern  shores  of  South 
America,  he  returned  in  November  of  the  same  year,  but  immediately  took 
part  in  a  second  memorable  voyage  under  Vincent  Pinzon. 

On  returning  to  Spain,  however,  Americus  was  allured  by  promises  into 
the  service  of  Emmanuel,  King  of  Portugal,  and  undertook  two  more 
voyages  with  the  ships  of  that  monarch.  He  sailed  from  Lisbon  in  May, 
1501,  ran  along  a  portion  of  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  oassed  over  to  Brazil. 

94 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  95 

The  object  of  his  fourth  and  last  voyage  was  to  find  a  western  passage  to 
Malacca.  He  left  Lisbon  with  a  fleet  of  six  vessels,  in  May,  1503,  and  after  a 
perilous  passage  discovered  the  famous  Bay  of  All  Saints,  in  Brazil.  This  is 
in  the  province  of  Bahia,  in  that  country,  and  now  has  the  city  of  Bahia  lying 
just  within  it  on  the  right  hand.  It  forms  a  superb  natural  harbor,  in  which 
the  navies  of  the  whole  world  might  ride  safely  at  anchor. 

After  many  adventures  the  brave  discoverer  arrived  in  Portugal  in  the 
summer  of  the  year  following.  The  king  gave  orders  that  some  remains  of 
the  ship  Victoria,  in  which  Americus  had  made  his  last  voyage,  should  be  sus- 
pended in  the  cathedral  of  Lisbon,  but  fulfilled  none  of  the  promises  which  he 
made. 

Indeed,  the  merits  and  services  of  Americus  seem  to  have  been  poorly 
rewarded  by  the  Portuguese  monarch,  for  we  again  find  him,  in  1505,  at 
Seville.  He  was  on  his  way  to  the  Spanish  court,  in  quest  of  employment, 
and  carried  a  letter  of  introduction  from  the  aged  Columbus  to  his  son  James. 
The  letter  is  dated  February  5th,  and  runs  thus: 

«  My  Dear  Son. — James  Mendez  departed  hence  on  Monday,  the  third 
of  this  month.  After  his  departure  I  conversed  with  Americus  Vespucius, 
the  bearer  of  this,  who  goes  there,  summoned  on  affairs  of  navigation. 
Fortune  has  been  adverse  to  him,  as  to  many  others.  His  labors  have  not 
profited  him  as  much  as  they  reasonably  should  have  done.  He  goes  on  my 
account,  and  with  much  desire  to  do  something,  if  in  his  power,  that  may 
result  to  my  advantage.  I  cannot  ascertain  here  in  what  I  can  employ  him 
that  will  be  serviceable  to  me;  for  I  do  not  know  what  may  be  there  required. 
He  goes  with  the  determination  to  do  all  that  is  possible  forme;  see  in  what 
he  may  be  of  advantage  and  co-operate  with  him,  that  he  may  say  and  do 
everything,  and  put  his  plans  in  operation;  and  let  all  be  done  secretly,  that 
he  may  not  be  suspected.  I  have  said  everything  to  him  that  I  can  say 
touching  the  business;  and  have  informed  him  of  the  pay  I  have  received, 
and  what  is  due,  etc." 

This  letter  was  penned  but  Little  more  than  a  year  before  the  death  of 
Columbus.  How  sad  to  think  that  the  great  discoverer  of  the  New  World, 
and  the  famous  man  who  was  destined  to  give  his  name  to  it,  should  each  be 
reduced  to  such  needy  circumstances  by  the  meanness  and  black  ingratitude 
of  monarchs  who  rolled  in  wealth  ! 

At  a  later  period,  Americus  obtained  the  Spanish  government  office  of 
chief  pilot,  which  he  retained  for  the  brief  remainder  of  his  life.  He  died  at 
Seville,  on  the  2 2d  of  February,  151  3,  at  the  age  of  nearly  si.\ty-one  years. 

The  fame  of  Americus  Vespucius  had  its  origin  in  his  writings.  Of  his 
first  voyage,  he  drew  up  an  intcrestingr  narrative  which  he   transmitted  to  a 


g5  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

fnend  in  Gcimanv.  He  describes  the  Carih  Indians  and  tlieir  immense 
houses  Iniilt  in  the  shape  of  bells — houses  of  such  magnitude  as  to  contain  six 
hundred  persons.  In  one  place  there  were  eight  vast  houses,  capable  of 
sheltering  nearly  ten  thousand  inhabitants.  Every  seven  or  eight  years,  the 
savages  were  obliged  to  change  their  places  of  residence  on  account  of  the 
maladies  engendered  by  the  heat  of  the  climate  in  their  crowded  habitations. 
As  this  was  long  before  the  days  of  quinine  and  medical  education  in  the  New 
World,  the  Indian  mode  of  treating  a  fever  is  worthy  of  mention.  In  the 
very  height  of  the  disease,  the  patient  was  plunged  in  a  bath  of  cold  water, 
after  which  he  was  obliged  to  run  around  a  large  fire,  until  he  was  in  a 
violent  heat,  when  he  retired  to  bed  for  a  sleep — a  kind  of  treatment  by 
which  Americus  declares  he  saw  many  cured. 

Shortly  after  his  return  from  his  last  expedition  to  Brazil,  he  wrote  a  let- 
ter addressed  to  an  old  fellow-student,  Rene,  Duke  of  Lorraine.  It  contained 
a  summary  account  of  all  his  voyages.  It  claimed  considerable  credit  for  its 
author  as  a  discoverer,  and  soon  found  its  way  over  all  Europe.  He  was, 
beyond  all  doubt,  a  skilled,  energetic  navigator,  and  a  man  of  superior  literary 
and  scientific  attainments.  It  is  greatly  to  his  credit  that  he  retained  the  con- 
fidence and  friendship  of  Columbus  to  the  last.  How  America  came  to  re- 
ceive its  name  from  him  is  not  quite  clear;  but  it  is  certain  from  the  investi- 
gations of  Humboldt  that  Americus  himself  had  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

The  hemisphere  discovered  by  Columbus  was  first  called  Land  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  or  New  World.  It  is  so  named  in  maps  drawn  in  the  early  part 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  word  America  came  from  Germany.  A  se- 
lection from  the  narratives  of  Americus  found  its  way  into  that  country,  and 
was  translated  by  one  Waldseemuller.  As  the  first  printed  account  of  the 
wonderful  discovery,  the  book  sold  rapidly  and  made  a  great  sensation.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  daily  paper  was  then  unborn,  and  the  telegraph 
a  thing  of  the  future. 

The  delighted  Waldseemuller,  who,  it  seems,  had  never  heard  of  Co- 
lumbus, proposed  that  the  new  continent  should,  in  honor  of  his  favorite  author, 
Americus,  be  called  America,  since  it  is  the  custom  in  most  languages  to  make 
Europe  and  Asia  of  the  feminine  gender,  and  America  is  the  feminine  of 
Americus,  just  as  Julia  is  the  feminine  of  Julius,  or  Augusta  the  feminine  of 
Augustus.  The  name  America  is  first  found  on  an  old  map  of  1532,  and  on  a 
globe  of  1570.  Thus,  less  than  a  century  after  the  great  discovery,  this  was 
the  name  generally  received.     It  was  first  given  to  portions  of  South  America, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


97 


as  can  be  seen  in  Verrazaiio's  map  of  the  world,  drawn  in  1529;  but  was  after- 
wards extended  to  the  whole  Western  world.  "The  name  of  Americus,"  says 
Robertson,  "has  supplanted  that  of  Columbus;  and  mankind  may  regret  an 
act  of  injustice,  which,  having  received  the  sanction  of  time,  it  is  now  too  late 
to  redress." 

To  sum  up  this  question:  The  character  of  Americus  Vespucius  has  been 
covered  with  a  great  deal  of  unmerited  obloquy.  He  has  been  accused  of 
endeavoring  to  claim  the  honor  of  discoveries  which  he  never  made,  and 
has  been  commonly  regarded  as  an  unprincipled  adventurer.  Humboldt,  how- 
ever, has  successfully  vindicated  him  from  such  aspersions.  He  had  a  very 
considerable  knowledge  of  various  branches  of  science,  and  it  was  on  account 
of  his  superior  attainments  in  these  that  he  was  selected  to  accompany  the 
expeditions  as  naval  astronomer.  He  was  a  prompt  and  skillful  inspector  of 
the  commissariat  while  under  his  control;  vigorous,  practical,  and  severe  in  his 
demands  for  increased  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  naval  functionaries  under 
him ;  an  earnest  navigator  and  close  friend  of  Columbus  in  the  last  years  of  the 
great  admiral's  life.  How  America  came  to  receive  its  name  from  him  is  not 
quite  clear;  but  it  is  certain,  from  Humboldt's  investigation,  that  Americus 
himself  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  The  name  of  the  New  World  came  from 
Germany.  A  selection  from  Americus'  narrative  of  his  American  voyages 
found  its  way  into  that  country.  Martin  Waldseemiiller  translated  it  for  a 
bookseller  of  St.  Diez  in  Lorraine.  As  the  first  account  of  the  wonderful 
discovery,  it  was  greedily  devoured.  Edition  after  edition  was  printed  off, 
and,  according  to  Humboldt,  it  was  Waldseemiiller  who  proposed  that  the 
New  World  should  be  called  America  in  honor  of  tlic  author.  Afterwards, 
this  name  was  generally  employed  by  geographical  writers,  and  even  the 
Spaniards  and  Portuguese  adopted  it. 

Americus  was  a  Catholic,  of  course,  but  even  a  warmer  Catholic  than  he 
was  soon  on  the  path  of  discovery  in  the  same  southern  latitudes.  Fernando 
Magellan  belonged  to  an  ancient  and  noble  family,  and  was  born  at  Oporto, 
in  Portugal,  about  the  year  1480.  From  boyhood  he  was  noted  for  his  piety, 
bravery  and  enterprise.  He  spent  some  years  at  the  court  of  his  native  coun- 
try, and  afterwards  served  with  distinction  in  the  East  Indies  under  the 
famous  General  Albuquerque.  He  thought,  however,  that  his  faithful  ser- 
vices were  ill-rewarded  by  his  King  and  went  to  Spain  in  1517. 

Magellan's  mind  was  now  filled  with  the  idea  of  a  noble  enterprise.  Co- 
lumbus had  discovered  the  New  World  and  Balboa  found  an  ocean  washing 


98  TRIALS  A\D  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

its  western  shores.  If  this  continent  had  an  opening  anywhere  to  the  south- 
ward, and  he  could  navigate  heyond  tiie  land  already  discovered,  what  was 
there  to  hinder  him  from  sailing  around  the  world  !  This  splendid  idea,  it 
will  be  remembered,  owed  its  origin  to  the  genius  of  Columbus;  but  it  re- 
mained for  another  great  Catholic  pioneer  to  carry  it  into  execution. 

Magellan  at  once  made  his  plans  known  to  Cardinal  Ximenes  and  King 
Charles,  and  met  with  every  encouragement.  An  agreement  was  drawn  up 
to  the  effect  that  Magellan  was  to  be  admiral  of  the  exploring  fleet,  and  gov- 
ernor of  all  the  lands  that  he  might  discover.  He  was  also  to  have  one-twen- 
tieth part  of  all  revenues  arising  from  his  discoveries,  besides  many  other 
privileges. 

Having  bade  a  last  loving  farewell  to  his  young  wife,  Magellan  stepped 
on  board  his  ship  at  Seville.  The  fleet  dropped  down  the  river,  and  soon 
reached  the  old  seaport  of  San  Lucar.  Here  the  ship's  stores  were  completed 
Mass  was  celebrated  for  the  success  of  the  enterprise,  and  the  admiral  at  the 
head  of  his  crews  received  Holy  Communion. 

Let  us  glance  at  the  little  squadron  before  it  departs.  It  was  the  20th  of 
September,  15 19.  The  vessels  were  five  in  number,  and  carried  eighty  cannon. 
Magellan's  flag-ship  was  named  the  Trinity;  then  there  were  the  Immacu- 
late Conception,  the  St.  Anthony,  the  Victoria,  and  the  St.  James.  The 
crews  numbered  two  hundred  and  fifty  men.  Among  the  most  noted  of  the 
officers  were  Magellan's  brother-in-law,  Edward  Barbosa;  John  Serrano,  cap- 
tain of  the  St.  James;  Anthony  Pigafetta,  who  afterwards  wrote  an  account 
of  the  voyage,  and  John  Sebastian  Elcano,  a  distinguished  pilot.  Several 
priests  accompanied  the  expedition. 

Magellan  stood  to  the  southwest,  and  after  buffeting  the  waves  of  the 
Atlantic  for  over  two  months,  he  reached  the  shores  of  what  is  now  Southern 
Brazil  in  South  America.  His  first  act  was  to  land,  and  have  a  little  altar 
erected  on  the  beach.  Officers  and  men  knelt  around  devoutly,  and  Mass 
was  celebrated  for  the  first  time  in  that  wild  region,  which  seemed  to  be  the 
favorite  abode  of  demons,  parrots,  monkeys,  and  cannibals. 

The  admiral  skirted  along  the  coast  towards  the  south,  keeping  a  careful 
watch  for  every  bay  and  inlet.  "  He  did  not  reach  the  River  de  la  Plata," 
says  Robertson,  "till  the  12th  of  January,  1520.  The  spacious  opening 
through  which  its  vast  bodj'  of  water  pours  into  the  Atlantic  allured  him  to 
enter,  but  after  sailing  up  it  for  some  days,  he  concluded,  from   the   shallow- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  99 

ness  of  the  stream  and  the  freshness  of  the  water,  that  the  wished-for  strait 
was  not  situated  tliere,  and  continued  his  course  towards  tlie  South. 

"  On  the  31st  of  March  he  arrived  at  the  port  of  St.  Julian,  about  forty- 
eight  degrees  south  of  tlie  line,  where  he  resolved  to  winter.  In  this  uncom- 
fortable station  he  lost  one  of  his  squadron;  and  the  Spaniards  suffered  so 
much  from  the  excessive  rigor  of  the  climate,  that  the  crews  of  three  of  his 
ships,  headed  by  their  officers,  rose  in  open  mutiny,  and  insisted  on  relinquish- 
ing the  visionary  project  of  a  desperate  adventurer,  and  returning  directly 
to  Spain. 

"  This  dangerous  insurrection  Magellan  suppressed,  by  an  effort  of 
courage  no  less  prompt  than  intrepid,  and  inflicted  exemplary  punishment  on 
the  ringleaders."  He  held  his  course  towards  the  South  in  the  midst  of 
blinding  tempests.  The  weary,  disheartened  sailors  again  grew  clamorous, 
and  the  admiral  was  obliged  to  exhibit  a  stern  front,  and  exert  all  his 
authority. 

"  I  shall  go  on,"  he  said,  "  even  till  we  reach  the  ice-seas  of  the  Southern 
pole.  The  land  of  this  continent  must  end  somewhere;  and  when  we  reach 
this  limit  we  shall  have  achieved  our  object.  We  still  have  food,  water,  cloth- 
ing, and  sound  ships.     Why,  then,  should  we  despair  f  " 

The  2ist  of  October,  1520,  a  bright,  sunny  morning,  was  the  festival  of 
the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins.  The  vessels  were  mai<ing  brisk  time,  and 
Mass  was  just  finished,  at  a  little  altar  on  the  poop,  when  a  sailor  from  the 
look-out  cried  that  he  saw  a  cape  in  the  distance.  It  was  soon  visible  to  all. 
Magellan  called  it  Cape  of  the  Virgins,  the  name  by  which  it  is  yet  known, 
and  on  rounding  it  a  vast  expanse  of  water,  which  proved  to  be  the  long- 
sought-for  strait,  was  seen  to  extend  inland. 

Mingled  hope  and  fear  filled  the  heart  of  Magellan  as  he  steered  into 
the  strange  opening.  He  cautiously  crept  along  the  winding,  unknown 
channel,  which  at  some  points  narrowed  to  five  miles  in  width,  and  at  others 
expanded  to  thirty.     The  navigation  was  as  difficult  as  it  was  dangerous. 

Towering  snow-crested  mountains,  with  cloven  peaks,  guard  the  strait 
like  so  many  hoary  sentinels.  Bays,  shady  inlets,  and  small  sheltered  harbors 
break  the  base  of  these  mountain  walls  on  each  side,  while  above  the  sombre 
forests,  above  the  line  of  vegetation,  lie  vast  fields  of  snow  and  ice — glaciers 
in  which  the  voyager  can  count  every  rift  and  deep  crevice  as  he  sails 
past  them,  and  from  which  countless  cascades  descend  and  mingle  with 
the  waters  below. 


100  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Of  THE 

After  sailing  for  twenty  clays  in  this  lonely,  labyrinthine,  but  picturesque 

strait to  which   he  gave   his  own   name — which  is    three  hundred  miles  in 

length,  and  where  one  of  his  ships  deserted  him,  Magellan  beheld  the  bound- 
less expanse  of  the  Southern  Ocean.  The  illustrious  navigator  thanked 
Heaven  for  seeing  what  he  had  so  long  sought.  The  Te  Deiim  was  chanted, 
and  the  joyful  booming  of  the  cannon  was  echoed  for  miles  around  by  the 
wild,  hilly  shores. 

Having  made  some  repairs,  and  taken  in  a  fresh  supply  of  wood,  water, 
and  provisions,  Magellan  steered  towards  the  northwest,  determined  to  push 
his  way  to  the  far-famed  Molucca,  or  Spice  Islands,  and  thence  homeward, 
thus  encircling  the  globe. 

This  was  really  the  course  of  the  voyage  pursued,  and  in  which  were 
discovered  the  famous  Phillipine  Islands,  to  this  day  a  possession  of  the  Span- 
ish monarchy.  While  cruising  among  these  picturesque  islands,  admiring  the 
perfumed  air,  luxuriant  foliage,  and  countless  beauties  which  natuie  had  scat- 
tered around  with  a  lavish  hand,  Magellan  came  to  the  island  of  Mazzava, 
where  he  was  warmly  welcomed.  The  dusky  monarch  of  that  island  was  very 
friendlv.  He  dined  more  than  once  on  board  the  flag-ship;  and  it  is  said  that 
he  used  the  royal  fingers  at  table  with  such  skill  as  to  make  a  knife  and  fork 
unnecessary. 

When  Easter  Sunday  came,  Magellan  resolved  to  have  it  celebrated  with 
becoming  splendor.  The  king,  his  brother,  and  their  officers,  were  invited 
to  be  present  at  the  sacred  ceremonies  It  was  a  scene  for  a  painter.  An 
altar  was  erected  on  shore.  Weather-beaten  sailors  and  brave  officers  gath- 
ered around  this  lone  center  of  Catholic  devotion.  Magellan,  in  his  admiral's 
uniform,  with  a  swarthy  king  on  each  side,  knelt  with  dignity  and  reverence; 
and  as  the  priest  raised  the  Holy  Host  to  Heaven,  every  worshiper  bowed 
down  to  the  earth,  and  the  cannon  from  the  ships  pealed  forth  one  salute  after 
another  in  honor  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  thus  was  cele- 
brated the  first  Mass  in  that  region  of  untutored  barbarism,  whose  inhabitants 
were  given  to  the  worship  of  idols  and  demons.  A  few  days  after  this,  the 
admiral  erected  a  large  cross  on  a  lofty  neighboring  hill,  and  explained  to  the 
pagan  king  that  it  was  the  symbol  of  the  true  God. 

From  Mazzava  the  admiral  sailed  for  the  beautiful  neighboring  island 
of  Sebu,  accompanied  by  his  royal  friend.  The  Spaniards  were  kindly  re- 
ceived. Magellan  and  the  priests  began  the  work  of  conversion.  It  was  in- 
deed a  glorious  work  to  plant  the  first  seeds  of  faith  in  that  wild  archipelago. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  lOI 

When  the  young  princes  expressed  their  behcf  in  the  truths  of  the  Catholic 
Religion,  Magellan  said: 

"  You  must  not  accept  our  Faith  from  any  fear  of  us,  or  in  order  to  please 
us.  If  you  wish  to  become  Christians  you  must  do  so  willingly.  No  harm 
will  be  done  you  if  you  do  not  embrace  our  religion;  but  those  who  do  will 
be  more  loved,  and  better  treated  than  the  others.  Moreover,  if  you  become 
Christians,  I  will  leave  you  arms,  as  my  king  has  commanded;  and  then  you 
can  defend  yourselves  from  your  enemies." 

The  day  for  baptism  was  fixed,  and  when  the  hour  came  the  admiral, 
accompanied  by  the  two  royal  converts — the  kings  of  Mazzava  and  Sebu — 
mounted  a  platform  prepared  for  the  occasion.  The  dusky  rulers  were  asked 
the  necessary  questions,  and  the  sacrament  that  made  them  children  of  the 
Catholic  Church  was  administered  with  impressive  ceremonies.  About  fifty 
of  the  chief  men  of  the  island  followed  their  example.  Mass  was  then  cele- 
brated, and  a  cross  erected  in  the  center  of  the  town. 

Magellan  was  al)out  to  bid  adieu  to  Sebu  and  its  friendly  monarch,  when 
he  received  a  startling  item  of  information.  The  people  of  Matan,  a  neigh- 
boring island,  headed  by  a  bold  chief,  had  risen  in  rebellion  against  the  King 
of  Sebu  on  account  of  his  becoming  a  Christian,  and  were  about  to  declare 
hostilities.  Magellan  resolved  to  punish  the  heathen  rebels  himself.  He 
landed  at  Matan  with  three  boats  and  sixty  veterans,  and  found  fifteen  hun- 
dred half-naked  warriors  drawn  up  on  a  hill.  The  admiral,  through  an 
interpreter,  promised  forgiveness  to  all  who  would  lay  down  their  arms  and 
return  to  their  allegiance.     He  was  answered  by  yells  of  defiance. 

The  wild  barbarians  rushed  down  on  the  Spaniards,  but  were  well 
received  by  these  hardy  swordsmen.  Magellan  fought  like  a  lion  at  the  head 
of  his  men.  His  long  sword  made  havoc  in  the  ranks  of  the  foe,  but  it  was 
in  vain  that  skill  and  valor  battled  for  supremacy.  The  conquest  was  too 
unequal.  The  natives  pressed  to  the  fight  in  overwhelming  numbers;  and,  at 
length,  the  admiral  fell,  mort.illy  wounded,  by  a  poisoned  javelin.  This  mis- 
fortune decided  the  conflict.  The  infuriated  savages  fell  upon  the  fearless 
but  exhausted  discoverer  with  staves  and  clubs,  and  he  expired  under  their 
blows,  murmuring  a  prayer  to  God  and  his  Blessed  Mother,  on  Saturday,  the 
17th  of  April,  152 1,  at  the  age  of  forty-one  years. 

The  name  of  Magellan  is  one  of  the  brightest  in  the  history  of  discovery. 
He  was  a  true  Catholic.  He  had  the  zeal  of  a  missionary.  He  burned  to  see 
the  ancient  Faith  extend  its  conquests.     Like  the  great  discoverer  of  America, 


102  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

ne  observed  the  festivals  of  the  Church  in  the  wildest  situations.  His  char- 
acter was  firm,  noble,  generous,  and  enterprising.  In  vain  did  disease,  fam- 
ine, hardship,  and  treachery  oppose  him.  Till  surrounded  by  the  shadow  of 
an  untimely  death,  he  triumphed  over  the  rage  of  man  and  the  fury  of  the 
elements.  His  voyage  was  a  brilliant  achievement  that  threw  a  new  light  on 
the  size  of  the  globe,  and  completed  the  unfinished  work  of  Columbus.  He 
not  only  named  the  Pacific  Ocean  —  that  vast  expanse  of  water  which  covers 
two-fifths  of  the  whole  earth — but  was  the  first  European  to  sail  across  its 
briny  bosom.  He  is  best  known  by  the  stormy  straits  which  gave  him  a 
passage  around  America. 

"  Forever  sacred  to  the  hero's  fame, 
These  foaming  Straits  shall  bear  his  deathless  name." 

But  we  must  retrace  our  way  to  the  South  American  continent.  A 
more  daring  even  than  Magellan,  though  of  far  meaner  mould,  was  now 
about  to  stamp  it  with  the  iron  heel  of  conquest.  And  yet,  among  the 
Catholic  pioneers  of  the  New  World  who  rose  to  distinction,  and  chiseled 
their  names  ni  the  marble  of  history,  none  began  life  in  such  poverty,  ignor- 
ance, and  degradation  as  Francis  Pizarro 

The  illegitimate  son  of  a  military  officer,  he  was  born  at  Truxillo,  in 
Spain,  about  the  year  1471.  The  child,  it  seems,  was  wholly  neglected  by  his 
parents,  never  taught  to  read  or  write,  and  spent  his  time  in  taking  care  of 
pigs.  But  as  he  grew  up,  this  humble  employment  became  intolerable.  His 
bold,  aspiring  mind  longed  for  fields  of  adventure;  and  he  enlisted  as  a  com- 
mon soldier,  serving  through  various  campaigns  in  Spain  and  Italy. 

Pizarro's  roving  spirit  led  him  to  the  New  World.  In  1509,  he  joined 
the  ill-fated  expedition  of  Ojeda,  in  which  John  de  la  Cosa  was  killed,  and 
the  attempt  to  found  a  colony  at  San  Sebastian  ended  in  failure.  He  then 
followed  the  fortunes  of  Balboa,  was  present  at  the  discovery  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  displayed  great  bravery  and  resolution  in  various  contests  with  the 
Indians.  A  little  later  on,  he  arrested  his  noble  chief,  and  led  him  to  a  death 
of  violence. 

He  next  engaged  in  traflicking  with  the  natives  on  the  shores  of  the 
newly-discovered  ocean.  In  a  few  years  more  he  joined  the  victorious  ban- 
ner of  Cortes,  and  served  in  the  conquest  of  Mexico.  Speaking  of  the 
famous  night  attack  on  the  forces  sent  by  Velasquez,  Bernal  Diaz  writes: 
"  Cortes  ordered  that,  in  the  attack,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  seize  the 
artiUery.     For  this  duty  he  selected  seventy  soldiers,  of  which  number  I  was 


CATHOLIC   CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  103 

one,  aiul  put  us  under  the  command  of  Pizarro,  an  active  lad,  whose  name 
however,  was  at  that  time  as  little  known  as  that  of  Peru/' 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Balboa  had  heard  of  Peru,  and  formed  the 
design  of  conquering  it;  but  after  his  untimely  death,  all  thought  of  that 
mysterious  land  of  gold  and  dusky  civilization  seemed  to  have  faded  from  the 
popular  mind.  Some  considered  it  a  dazzling  fiction.  There  resided  on  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama,  however,  three  men  who  had  a  firm  belief  in  its  existence — 
namely,  Francis  Pizarro,  James  de  Almagro,  and  Hernando  de  Luque,  a  priest. 

When  the  splendid  achievement  of  Cortes  resounded  through  the  world, 
giving  fresh  impulse  to  adventure,  these  three  friends  put  their  heads  together, 
formed  a  kind  of  solemn  partnership,  ratified  at  the  altar,  and  fitted  out  a 
small  expedition  for  the  discovery  and  conquest  of  Peru. 

Pizarro  took  command.  In  1524,  about  four  years  after  Magellan's 
squadron  had  entered  the  Pacific,  he  spread  his  sails,  and  bore  away  towards 
the  South  on  the  same  boundless  ocean.  He  crept  down  the  coast,  and  landed 
from  time  to  time,  only  to  find  a  rugged  and  barren  country.  Hunger  came, 
and  many  of  the  men  died.  Nor  was  that  all.  The  Indians  fought  with 
poisoned  arrows,  the  climate  was  unwholesome,  and  the  forests  were  dense 
beyond  description. 

Almagro  brought  a  reinforcement;  but  the  hopeless  toil  became  intoler- 
able, and  most  of  the  men  returned  to  Panama.  Pizarro,  with  only  fourteen 
followers,  sought  shelter  on  the  uninhabited  island  of  Gorgona,  "  which 
those  who  have  seen  it  compare  to  the  infernal  regions."  Here  they  spent 
five  miserable  months,  living  on  shell-fish,  and  anything  else  the  sharpened 
eye  of  hunger  could  discover. 

At  length  fresh  supplies  from  Almagro  enabled  the  dauntless  commander 
to  set  forth  once  more,  and  achieve  the  discovery  of  Northern  Peru.  The 
Spaniards  landed,  and  their  eyes  beheld  a  country  rolling  in  wealth  and  bar- 
barous splendor.  The  precious  metals  were  everywhere.  Pizarro  returned 
to  Panama,  carrying  with  him  numbers  of  costly  and  beautiful  ornaments  of 
gold  and  silver,  specimens  of  woollen  cloth  of  silken  texture  and  brilliant 
hue,  and  some  llamas,  or  alpacas — all  of  which  he  had  received  from  the  rich 
and  generous  natives. 

In  152S,  the  indomitable  Pizarro  sailed  for  Spain,  and  landed  at  Palos, 
where  he  accidentally  met  his  old  chief,  Cortes,  who  was  then  spending  a  few 
days  of  repose,  after  his  voyage,  at  the  hospitable  Monastery  of  La  Rabida. 
"  The   meeting  of  these  two  extraordinary  men,"  says  Prescott,  "  the  con- 


104  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

querors  of  the  North  and  of  the  South  in  tlie  New  World,  as  they  set  foot, 
after  tlieir  eventful  absence,  on  the  shores  of  their  native  land,  and  that,  too, 
on  the  spot  consecrated  by  the  presence  of  Columbus,  has  something  in  it 
striking  to  the  imagination." 

Pizarro  appeared  at  court  with  tlie  dignity  and  frank  manners  of  a 
soldier,  and  recounted  to  Charles  V.  the  thrilling  story  of  his  wonderful  dis- 
covery. He  was  appointed  governor  and  captain-general  of  Peru.  Return- 
ing to  Panama,  he  set  sail  for  Peru  with  a  small  but  well-equipped  force 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty-three  men  and  37  horses.  He  landed  at  St.  Mat- 
thew's Bay  in  1 531,  marched  towards  the  South,  and  was  joined  by  small 
reinforcements  under  the  gallant  Hernando  de  Soto  and  other  officers. 

He  began  to  advance  cautiously  into  the  interior,  arid  soon  learned  the 
real  state  of  the  country.  The  golden  empire  of  Peru,  which  stretched  along 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  from  north  to  south,  for  over  fifteen  hundred  miles,  was 
convulsed  in  civil  war.  A  quarrel  had  arisen  between  Huascar  and  Atahualpa, 
the  two  sons  of  the  late  monarch.  Atahualpa,  triumphant  in  battle,  had 
taken  his  brother  prisoner,  and  was  encamped  beyond  the  Andes  with  a 
victorious  army  of  fifty  thousand  men. 

Just  at  this  point  Pizarro  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  decided  to  meet  the 
victor.  "  Let  every  one  of  you,"  he  said  to  his  men,  "  take  heart,  and  go 
forward  like  a  good  soldier  —  nothing  daunted  at  the  smallness  of  your 
numbers.  For  in  the  greatest  extremity  God  ever  fights  for  his  own;  and  no 
doubt  He  will  humble  the  pride  of  the  heathen,  and  bring  him  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  Faith — the  great  end  and  object  of  the  conquest." 

"Lead  on!"  shouted  the  troops,  "  wherever  you  think  best.  We  will 
follow  with  good  will,  and  you  shall  see  that  we  can  do  our  duty  in  the  cause 
of  God  and  the  king." 

He  took  up  his  line  of  march  for  the  Andes,  whose  vast  summits  soon 
"cast  their  shadows  on  the  little  army,  and  the  toilsome  ascent  began.  The 
path  was  so  steep  that  the  cavalry  dismounted  and  with  difficulty  led  their 
horses  upward — so  narrow  that  there  was  barely  room  for  a  horse  to  walk. 
In  many  places  it  overhung  abysses  thousands  of  feet  in  depth,  into  which 
men  and  horses  looked  with  fear.  As  they  rose,  the  opulent  vegetation  of 
the  tropics  was  left  behind,  and  they  passed  through  dreary  forests  of  stunted 
pine-wood.  The  cold  was  piercing.  But  the  summit  was  reached  in  safety, 
and  the  descent  of  the  eastern  slope  began.  As  they  followed  the  downward 
path,  each  step  disclosed  some  new  scene  of  grandeur  or  of  beauty." 


MUST  Kli\  .  1'.  j.  k\A.\.  D.  D., 
Archbisliop  of  Philadelphia. 


CHURCHES    iX    THE    ARCHDIOCESE    OF    PHILADELPHIA. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  105 

The  hardy  battalions  passed  down  to  the  city  of  Cassamarca,  and  were 
courteously  received  by  Atahualpa.  Pizarro,  however,  well  knew  the  peril 
of  his  position.  He  thought  of  Cortes  and  Montezuma,  and,  during  a  public 
interview,  he  boldly  seized  the  king,  and,  by  a  few  swift  and  well  directed 
charges,  routed  the  panic  stricken  Peruvian  army.  It  was  all  the  work  of 
less  than  an  hour. 

Atahualpa,  now  a  captive  in  his  own  country,  in  the  hands  of  strange 
and  terrible  warriors,  sought  to  regain  his  liberty  by  offers  whose  magnifi- 
cence astonished  Pizarro  and  his  soldiers.  "  He  offered,"  says  Mackenzie, 
"  to  fill  with  gold,  to  a  height  of  nine  feet,  a  room  whose  area  was  seventeen 
feet  in  breadth  and  twenty-two  feet  in  length.  A  room  of  smaller  dimensions 
was  to  be  twice  filled  with  silver ;  and  he  asked  only  two  months  to  collect 
this  enormous  ransom.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  the  Inca  —  which  was 
the  title  given  to  monarchs  of  Peru — sent  messengers  to  all  his  cities,  com- 
manding that  temples  and  palaces  should  be  stripped  of  their  ornaments. 

"  In  a  few  weeks,  Indian  carriers  began  to  arrive  at  Cassamarca,  laden 
to  their  utmost  capacity  with  silver  and  gold.  Day  by  day,  they  poured  in, 
bearing  great  golden  vessels,  which  had  been  used  in  the  palaces  —  great 
plates  of  gold,  which  had  lined  the  walls  and  roofs  of  temples  —  crowns  and 
collars  and  bracelets  of  gold,  which  the  chieftains  gave  up  in  the  hope  that 
they  would  procure  the  liberty  of  their  master.  At  length,  the  room  was 
filled  up  to  the  red  line  which  Pizarro  had  drawn  upon  the  wall  as  his  record 
of  this  extraordinary  bargain." 

This  immense  mass  of  gold  and  silver — equal,  it  has  been  computed,  to 
fifteen  or  twenty  millions  of  dollars — was  melted  down;  one  fifth  was  set 
aside  for  the  king  of  Spain,  and  a  small  portion  was  given  to  Almagro,  who 
had  just  arrived  with  reinforcements.  The  general  reserved  the  rest  for 
himself,  his  officers  and  soldiers.  It  is  said  that  each  horseman  received 
about  forty  thousand  tlollars. 

"  There  is  no  example  in  history,"  says  Robertson,  "  of  such  a  sudden 
acquisition  of  wealth  by  military  service;  nor  was  ever  simi  so  great  dividctl 
among  so  small  a  number  of  soldiers." 

But  though  it  was  ])roclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet  that  Ataliualiia  hail 
paid  his  ransom  like  a  king,  he  still  continued  a  prisoner.  It  is  related  that 
the  captive  monarch  found  pleasure  in  the  visits  of  the  knightly  Hernando  de 
Soto,  who  knew  how  to  treat  him  with  becoming  respect.  But  in  the 
presence  of  Pizarro,  "  he  was  always  uneasy  and  overawed.     This  dread  soon 


I06  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

came  to  be  mingled  with  contempt.  Among  all  the  European  arts,  what  he 
admired  most  was  that  of  reading  and  writing;  and  he  long  deliberated  with 
himself,  whether  he  should  regard  it  as  natural  or  acquired  talent.  In  order 
to  determine  this,  he  desired  one  of  the  soldiers  who  guarded  him  to  write 
the  name  of  God  on  the  nail  of  his  thumb. 

"  This  he  showed  successively  to  several  Spaniards,  asking  its  meaning; 
and  to  his  amazement  they  all,  without  hesitation,  returned  the  same  answer- 
At  length  Pizarro  entered;  and  on  presenting  it  to  him,  he  blushed  and  with 
some  confusion  was  obliged  to  acknowledge  his  ignorance.  From  that 
moment  Atahualpa  considered  hnn  as  a  mean  person,  less  instructed  than  his 
own  soldiers;  and  he  had  not  address  enough  to  conceal  the  sentiments  with 
which  this  discovery  inspired  him." 

The  illiterate  governor  was  mortified  to  be  "  the  object  of  a  barbarian's 
scorn,"  and  it  is  said  the  foregoing  incident  hastened  the  doom  of  the  unfor- 
tunate Inca.  It  was  soon  rumored  that  he  had  ordered  a  rising  of  the 
Peruvians.  He  was  at  once  tried  before  Pizarro  and  Almagro,  who  sat  as 
judges,  and  unjustly  accused  of  a  number  of  crimes.  The  unhappy  monarch 
was  condemned  to  death,  and  after  receiving  baptism,  he  was  cruelly 
strangled.  De  Soto  was  absent  from  the  camp  at  the  time  of  this  horrible 
transaction,  but  on  returning  he  reproached  his  chief,  and  expressed  his  firm 
belief  that  Atahualpa  had  been  basely  slandered. 

Pizarro  now  marched  and  took  possession  of  the  Peruvian  capital — "  the 
great  and  Holy  city  of  Cusco."  It  contained  a  population  of  about  three  hun- 
dred  thousand.  The  streets  crossed  each  other  at  right  angles,  and  the  houses 
were  built  chiefly  of  stone.  It  was  adorned  with  numerous  and  splendid 
palaces,  and  guarded  by  a  mighty  fortress  built  on  a  lofty  eminence.  "This 
noble  city  was  the  pride  of  all  Peruvians.  It  was  to  them  what  Jerusalem 
was  to  the  Jews,  or  Rome  to  the  Romans." 

In  less  than  ten  years  Pizarro  made  himself  master  of  the  Peruviau 
empire.  He  erected  churches,  cast  down  idols,  and  set  up  crosses  on  the 
highways.  He  founded  the  city  of  Lima  in  1535.  But  the  demon  of  strife 
appeared  among  the  conquerors.  An  open  rupture  between  Pizarro  and 
Almagro  led  to  new  scenes  of  blood  and  appalling  slaughter.  Almagro  was 
defeated,  taken  prisoner  and  mercilessly  condemned  to  be  strangled.  Though 
in  feeble  health,  and  pressed  down  with  the  burden  of  seventy-five  years,  he 
died  with  the  dignity  and  fortitude  of  a  veteran. 

Almagro  perished,  but   he   left  behind   him   a  strong  party  that   hated 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  107 

Pizarro,  and  plotted  his  destruction.  About  noon,  on  Sunday,  the  26th  of 
June,  1 541,  a  band  of  conspirators  rushed  into  the  residence  of  the  governor, 
exclaiming:  "Long  live  the  king!  Down  with  the  tyrant!"  Pizarro  was  in 
his  apartment,  surrounded  by  only  a  few  followers.  On  becoming  aware  of 
his  danger  he  ordered  the  door  to  be  shut,  grasped  his  sword  and  said: 
"Courage,  companions,  we  are  yet  many  enough  to  make  these  traitors  repent 
of  their  audacity." 

When  the  door  opened  the  struggle  grew  desperate.  Pizarro  threw  him- 
self on  his  enemies  like  a  lion  aroused  in  his  lair.  "Traitors!"  he  cried, 
"have  you  come  to  kill  me  in  my  own  house!"  and  his  sword  fell  with  fatal 
force  on  numbers  of  his  enemies.  But  all  his  followers  were  soon  killed  or 
wounded,  and  at  length  the  fearless  old  man  received  a  mortal  stab  in  the 
throat  and  fell.  "Jesus!"  exclaimed  the  dying  general,  and  tracing  a  cross 
with  his  finger  on  the  bloody  floor,  he  bent  down  his  head  to  kiss  it,  when  a 
stroke  more  friendly  than  the  rest  put  an  end  to  his  existence. 

And  thus  perished  Francis  Pizarro,  the  stern  conqueror  of  Peru,  who 
had  surmounted  so  many  stupendous  difficulties  on  land  and  water,  who  had 
served  under  Oj^da  and  Balboa  and  Cortes,  who  had  braved  hunger  and 
thirst  and  disease,  who  had  smiled  at  the  wrath  of  man  and  the  fury  of  the 
tempest,  who  had  broken  through  the  lofty  barrier  of  the  Andes,  and  tri- 
umphed at  the  head  of  his  veterans  on  countless  battle-fields.  He  was  about 
seventy  years  of  age.  He  was  never  married.  Simple  in  dress  and  manners, 
he  was  tall  in  stature  and  well  proportioned,  with  an  air  of  soldierly  distinc- 
tion. He  rose  early,  and  was  temperate  in  eating  and  drinking.  Far  from 
hoarding  up  the  vast  wealth  that  poured  in  upon  him  as  Governor  of  Peru, 
he  generously  employed  it  in  promoting  great  public  enterprises.  He  was  a 
warrior  of  dauntless  courage,  iron  nerve,  and  rare  power  of  patient  endur- 
ance, but  in  many  of  his  boldest  actions  he  simply  imitated  Cortes,  and  trusted 
to  luck  for  success.  Though  often  guided  by  noble  and  generous  impulses, 
his  wonderful  career  is  marked  by  deeds  of  cunning,  cruelty  and  treachery. 
The  conquest  of  Peru  is  a  long  and  bloody  drama,  in  which  he  was  the  chief 
actor,  but  it  is  only  right  to  remember  that  this  terrible  genius  was  a  poor, 
unlettered  "son  of  sin  and  sorrow."  To  judge  him  fairly  we  must  judge 
with  charity. 

Very  soon  after  the  date  of  Pizarro's  conquest,  Central  America  had 
bishops  at  Nicaragua,  Guatemala  and  Panama,  and  as  the  Spanish  power 
advanced,  episcopal  sees  were  erected  at  Carthagena  and  at  Cuzco,  the  seat 


I08  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

of  the  Inca  power,  and  before  tlie  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  there  were 
bishops  at  Paraguay,  La  Plata,  Santiago  de  Chile,  and  Buenos  Ayres.  The 
nominations  to  these  sees  were  all  made  by  the  Spanish  kings,  to  whom  the 
Holy  See  granted  extensive  powers  in  America.  The  early  bishops  were 
almost  all  remarkable  men — full  of  zeal,  laboring  earnestly  to  bring  to  orderly 
lives  both  rulers  and  people,  who  were  alike  in  those  wild  times  disposed  to 
excess.  They  preached  the  gospel  fearlessly,  and  not  without  danger.  One 
of  them,  the  holy  Bishop  Valdiviose,  of  Nicaragua,  actually  died  by  the  hand 
of  a  governor  whom  he  rebuked.  The  Spanish  monarchs  assigned  part  of 
their  revenues  from  mines  for  the  erection  of  churches;  the  religious  orders 
sent  colonies  to  the  various  provinces,  establishing  seminaries,  colleges,  hos- 
pitals; and  a  new  order,  that  of  Bethlehem,  for  the  care  of  the  sick,  arose  in 
Guatemala,  founded  by  the  venerable  Peter  Betancurt. 

By  the  missions  now  established  millions  of  the  aborigines  were  won  to 
the  Christian  faith,  not  only  in  the  half  civilized  state  of  Peru,  but  among  the 
wildest  and  fiercest  tribes  of  the  southern  wilderness.  The  great  Jesuit  mis- 
sions of  Paraguay  remain  in  history  as  monuments  of  the  zeal  that  spread 
itself  over  the  continent,  bearing  with  it  the  gospel  of  peace. 

The  bishops  founded  seminaries,  held  provincial  councils  and  diocesan 
synods;  and  one,  St.  Turribius  Mogrobejo,  Bishop  of  Lima  (  157S-1606),  is 
already  canonized.  Led  by  such  examples,  clergy  and  religious  showed  simi- 
lar fervor.  St.  Louis  Bertrand  labored  for  years  in  Columbia;  St.  Francis 
Solano  in  La  Plata  and  Peru;  the  Blessed  John  Masias,  Martin  Porras  and 
Sebastian  of  the  Apparition,  lay  brothers  of  the  Orders  of  St.  Dominic  and 
St.  Francis,  edified  all  by  their  holy  life;  St.  Rose  of  Lima  and  Blessed 
Mariana  of  Quito  became  models  for  holy  virgins. 

The  introduction  of  negro  slaves  into  America  gave  the  Church  a  new 
flock  to  save.  The  Blessed  Peter  Claver  devoted  his  life  to  them,  becoming 
the  slave  of  the  slave. 

Brazil,  settled  by  the  Portuguese,  followed  the  system  of  the  Spanish 
colonies,  and  had  an  episcopal  see  at  Bahia  in  1550;  and  for  a  time  religion 
flourished  in  the  settlements  and  in  the  Indian  mission,  where  the  Ven. 
Father  Anchieta  led  his  wonderful  life. 

When  Protestantism  gained  a  foothold  in  some  states  of  Europe,  the 
missionaries  on  their  way  to  America  were  exposed  to  fearful  dangers  before 
they  reached  the  field  where  thej'  were  to  labor.  Piratical  cruisers,  veiling 
their  cruel  rapacity  under  a  pretext  of  religion,  murdered   all  Catholic   mis- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  IO9 

sionaries  found  on  vessels  that  fell  into  their  hands.  In  this  way  the  Blessed 
Peter  Azevedo  and  thirty-nine  companions  were  martyred  on  their  voyage 
to  Brazil. 

Religion  continued  to  be  maintained  and  extended  in  South  America  till 
the  middle  of  the  last  century,  when  it  received  a  severe  blow  in  the  expul- 
sion of  the  Jesuits.  Missions  were  then  everywhere  broken  up  and  scattered, 
colleges  and  seminaries  were  closed  and  churches  left  desolate.  The  state  in 
vain  endeavored  to  supply  the  void  thus  created.  Some  of  the  other  religious 
orders  had  grown  wealthy,  and  had  lost  their  early  fervor,  the  system  of  lay 
patronage  had  placed  many  unworthy  persons  in  the  benefices  of  the  secular 
clergy,  and  a  general  decline  of  religion  followed.  When  the  French  Revo- 
lution broke  out,  the  infidel  doctrines  that  produced  it  spread  in  books  to  Span- 
ish America,  and  did  more  to  wreck  the  faith  of  that  once  Catholic  people. 

Revolution  began  in  the  provinces  from  Darien  to  Patagonia,  and  grad- 
ually the  Spanish  authorities  and  forces  were  expelled,  and  new  governments, 
nominally  republican,  were  set  up.  Brazil  followed  a  similar  course,  but 
became  an  Empire  under  a  prince  of  the  royal  family  of  Portugal. 

In  these  revolutions  most  of  the  bishops  were  driven  out  as  adherents  of 
Spain,  and  for  years  religion  was  at  a  low  ebb.  Gradually,  Freemasonry, 
introduced  into  Mexico  from  the  United  States,  spread  over  Spanish  America 
and  Brazil,  and  most  of  the  leading  men  becoming  its  dupes  and  tools,  no 
longer  concealed  their  hostility  to  religion.  In  all  these  countries  the  Church 
has  been  Ijr  many  years  at  the  sport  of  impious  men.  Bishops  are  impris- 
oned or  exiled  for  doing  their  duty,  religious  Orders  and  convents  are  sup- 
pressed, all  attempts  at  reform  are  checked;  even  the  pious  sodalities  and 
confraternities  attached  to  the  churches  are  made  an  instrument  to  oppress 
and  insult  the  Church. 

The  Holy  See  has  been  unceasing  in  its  vigilance  and  efforts  to  revive 
religion,  and  has  repeatedly  sent  pious  and  alile  men  to  operate  the  needed 
reform.  With  one  of  these,  Monsignor  Musi,  sent  by  Pope  Pius  VII.,  came 
the  Abbate  Mastai  Ferretti,  afterwards  the  famous  Pius  IX.,  who  spent  two 
years  in  Buenos  Ayres,  Chili,  and  Peru. 

Yet  the  faith  is  not  dead.  There  are  many  learned  and  pious  bishops 
and  priests,  and  under  better  auspices,  religion  may  revive  and  regain  in 
South  America  its  early  and  happier  influence.  We  have  purposely  summed 
up  the  situation  down  to  date,  as  hereafter  our  retrospect  will  confine  itself 
to  the  North  American  continent. 


Cbapten  VI. 


Cbc  Tpuc  Lords  of  tbc  SolL 


GOD  Guiding  the  Discoverers.— America's  Native  Tribes.— The  Indian  Life 
AND  Customs.— Hunting  for  Subsistence.— War  as  a  Lifelong  Trade.— 
The  Great  Tribes  of  the  Continent.— Crude  Notions  of  the  Deity.— 
The  Harmony  of  Indian  Names. — Missionaries  Who  Made  Books.— Las 
Casas,  Bishop  and  Historian.— First  Ordination  in  America. 

J  HE  discovery  of  America,  like  every  other  event  in  the  history  of 
the  world,  had,  in  the  design  of  God,  the  great  object  of  the  salva- 
tion of  mankind.  In  that  event,  more  clearly  than  is  often 
permitted  to  us,  we  can  see  and  adore  the  Providence  which  thus 
extended  to  millions,  long  sundered  from  the  rest  of  man  by  path- 
less oceans,  the  light  of  the  Savior's  gospel  and  the  proffered  boon 
of  redemption.  The  manners  and  condition  of  these  native  American  millions, 
when  first  made  known  to  the  civilized  world,  are  of  deep  interest  to  all  who 
would  read  intelligently  of  the  efforts  made  to  convert  them. 

The  primitive  inhabitants  of  the  New  World  were  the  races  of  red  men 
who  have  been  called  Indians.  The  name  Indian  was  given  to  them  from 
their  supposed  identity  with  the  people  of  India.  Columbus  and  his  com- 
panions, as  already  stated,  believed  that  they  had  reached  the  islands  of  the  far 
East,  and  that  the  natives  were  of  the  same  race  with  the  inhabitants  of  the 

no 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  ,11 

Indies.  The  mistake  of  the  Spaniards  was  soon  discovered;  but  the  name 
Indian  has  ever  since  remained  to  designate  the  native  tribes  of  the  western 
continent. 

These  tribes  of  natives  differed  very  mucli  in  some  respect  as  to  their 
m.ode  of  life.  Some  were  warlike,  others  peaceful.  Some  lived  only  by 
hunting,  others  had  fields  of  waving  corn,  and  raised  also  beans,  pumpkins, 
tobacco,  American  hemp  and  sunflowers, — these  last  for  the  oil  in  the  seeds. 
Some  had  only  little  tents  of  skin  or  bark,  called  "wigwams;"  others  built 
permanent  villages,  with  streets,  and  rows  of  houses.  These  houses  were  of 
bark,  supported  by  wooden  posts;  they  had  a  slit,  about  a  foot  wide,  the 
whole  length  of  the  roof,  to  let  the  light  in,  and  the  smoke  out.  The  fires 
were  built  on  the  ground,  in  a  row,  under  the  long  opening,  when  the  house 
or  wigwam  happened  to  be  a  large  one. 

The  New  Mexicans,  who  were  fairly  civilized,  had  houses  of  unburnt 
bricks,  several  stories  in  height,  diminishing  in  size  as  they  ascended.  These 
houses,  in  a  town,  were  not  like  ours,  apart,  but  all  built  at  the  same  time,  with 
no  intervening  spaces,  and  formed  a  parallelogram,  presenting  outwardly  a 
wall  unbroken  by  door  or  window,  while  the  centre  of  the  town  was  an  open 
square.  Each  story  presented  a  terrace  to  be  reached  by  ladders,  which  en- 
abled the  owner  to  mount  gradually  to  the  roof,  where  the  main  entrance 
was.  The  lowest  story  was  a  kind  of  stove  or  vapor-bath.  These  towns  still 
subsist,  and  have  often  proved  in  war  a  most  secure  defence.  The  people 
raised  cotton  in  abundance,  which  they  spun  and  wove  into  cloth,  and  in  this 
and  in  dressed  skins  the  people  were  all  decently  attired.  Their  fields  were 
productive  and  their  culinary  utensils  of  superior  make. 

But,  however  carefully  they  may  have  built  their  houses,  all  these  Indians 
were  alike  in  being  a  roving  race,  living  in  the  open  air  most  of  their  time, 
and  very  unwilling  to  be  long  confined  to  one  place.  They  were  always  mov- 
ing about,  changing  their  abode  at  different  seasons  of  the  year,  or  when 
they  wished  to  pursue  a  different  kind  of  game.  One  of  their  commonest 
reasons  for  removing  was  that  they  had  burned  the  woods  immediately 
around  them.  So  when  the  first  white  settlers  came,  and  the  Indians  were 
puzzled  to  know  why  these  strangers  arrived,  some  of  them  thought  that  it 
must  be  because  they  had  burned  up  all  the  wood  in  the  country  from  which 
they  came,  and  that  they  visited  the  American  continent  merely  to  find  fresh 
supplies  of  fuel. 

The   Indians  were  not  commonly  equal   to  the   Europeans  in  bodily 


112  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

strength;  they  were  not  so  strong  in  the  arms  and  liands,  nor  could  they 
strike  such  heavy  blows.  But,  on  the  other  haml,  liicir  endurance  was 
wonderful.  They  were  very  light  of  foot,  so  that  their  best  runners  could 
run  seventy  or  eighty  miles  in  aday ;  and  they  could  bear  the  greatest  torture 
without  uttering  a  groan.  In  the  woods  they  could  hear  sounds  and  observe 
signs  which  no  white  man  could  perceive;  and  they  had  the  power  of 
travelling  for  miles  in  a  straight  line  through  the  thickest  forest,  being 
guided  by  the  appearance  of  the  moss  and  bark  upon  the  trees. 

When  the  discoverers  arrived,  they  found  the  Indians  dressed  chiefly  in 
the  skins  of  animals,  which  they  prepared  by  smoking  them,  instead  of  by 
tanning,  as  is  now  the  practice.  But  in  time  they  obtained  blankets  from  the 
colonists,  and  decorated  them  with  beads,  shells  and  feathers.  On  gieat 
occasions,  such  as  councils  and  war-dances,  the  chiefs  wore  a  great  quantity  of 
these  decorations,  and  also  painted  their  faces  with  bright  colors.  The 
women  or  "  squaws,"  as  they  were  called,  had  this  same  practice,  but  were 
more  plainly  dressed  than  the  men,  and,  like  them,  sometimes  tattooed  their 
bodies.  But  the  women  wore  their  hair  long,  while  the  men  commonly 
shaved  theirs  off,  except  one  lock  called  the  "scalp-lock,"  which  was  left  as  a 
point  of  honor;  so  that,  if  one  Indian  killed  another,  he  could  cut  off  the 
scalp,  lifting  it  by  this  lock. 

The  food  of  the  Indians  was  very  simple;  it  consisted  of  what  they 
obtained  by  hunting  and  fishing,  with  pounded  corn,  acorns,  berries,  and  a 
few  vegetables.  They  used  tobacco;  but  had  no  into.\icating  drinks  till  they 
got  them  from  Europeans.  They  knew  how  to  make  rush  mats  and  wooden 
mortars  and  earthen  vessels.  They  made  fish-hooks  of  bone,  and  nets  out  of 
the  fibres  of  hemp.  They  made  pipes  of  clay  and  stone,  often  curiously 
carved  or  moulded.  They  made  stone  axes  and  arrow-heads;  and  these  are 
often  found  in  the  ground  to  this  day,  wherever  there  is  the  site  of  an  Indian 
village.  They  made  beads  called  "  wampum,"  out  of  shells.  After  the 
Europeans  came,  they  supplied  the  Indians  with  their  own  beads,  and  with 
iron  axes  and  arrow-heads,  and,  at  last,  with  fire-arms. 

But  the  most  ingenious  inventions  of  the  Indians  were  the  snow  shoe 
and  birch  canoe.  The  snow-shoe  was  made  of  a  maple- wood  frame,  three 
or  four  feet  long,  curved  and  tapering,  and  filled  in  with  a  net-work  of  deer's 
hide.  This  net-work  was  fastened  to  the  foot  by  thongs,  only  a  light,  elastic 
m.occasin  being  worn.  Thus  the  foot  was  supported  on  the  surface  of  the 
snow ;  and  an  Indian  could  travel  forty  miles  a  day  upon  snow-shoes,  and 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  I13 

could  easily  overtake  the  deer  aiu!  moose,  whose  pointed  hoofs  cut  through 
the  crust.  The  peculiar  pattern  varied  with  almost  every  tribe,  as  did  also 
the  pattern  of  the  birch  canoe.  This  was  made  of  the  bark  of  the  white 
birch,  stretched  over  a  very  light  frame  of  white  cedar.  The  whole  bark  of 
a  birch  tree  was  stripped  off  and  put  round  the  frame,  without  being  torn. 
The  edges  were  sewed  with  thongs  cut  from  the  roots  of  the  cedar,  and  were 
then  covered  with  pitch  made  from  the  gum  of  trees.  If  torn,  the  canoe  could 
be  mended  with  pieces  of  bark,  fastened  in  the  same  way.  The  largest  of  these 
canoes  were  thirty  feet  long,  and  would  carry  ten  or  twelve  Indians  ;  they 
were  very  light,  and  could  be  paddled  with  ease.  They  were  often  very  grace- 
fully shaped,  and  drew  very  little  water.  The  birch  canoe  and  the  snow-shoe 
are  still  much  in  use,  even  among  white  men,  in  certain  sections  of  the  countr}-. 

The  Indians  generally  had  great  courage,  self-control,  and  patience. 
They  were  grave  and  dignified  in  their  manners,  on  important  occasions;  in 
their  councils  they  were  courteous  to  one  another,  and  discussed  all  important 
questions  at  great  length.  They  were  often  kind  and  generous,  and  some- 
times even  forgiving;  but  they  mostly  regarded  sternness  as  a  virtue,  and 
forgiveness  as  a  weakness.  They  were  esj>ecially  cruel  to  captives,  putting 
them  to  death  with  all  manner  of  tortures,  in  which  women  took  an  active 
part.  It  was  the  custom  among  them  for  women  to  do  the  most  of  the  hard 
work,  in  order  that  the  bodies  of  the  men  might  be  kept  supple  and  active 
for  the  pursuits  of  the  chase  and  war.  When  employed  on  these  pursuits,  the 
Indian  seemed  incapable  of  fatigue;  but  in  the  camp,  or  in  traveling,  the 
women  carried  the  burdens,  and  when  a  hunter  had  carried  a  slain  deer  on 
his  shoulders  for  a  long  distance,  he  would  throw  it  down  within  sight  of 
the  village,  that  his  squaw  might  go  and  bring  it  in. 

Generally,  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  American  Indians  are  as 
follows:  a  square  head,  with  a  low  but  broad  forehead,  the  back  of  the  head 
flattened,  full  face,  and  powerful  jaws;  cheek-bones  prominent;  lips  full;  eyes 
dark,  and  deeply  set;  the  hair  long,  not  absolutely  straight,  but  wavy,  some- 
thing like  a  horse's  mane,  and  like  that  of  a  glossy  hue;  little  or  no  beard- 
where  it  does  appear,  carefully  eradicated  with  tweezers;  color  of  the  skin 
reddish  or  copper;  height  of  the  men  about  the  average,  but  looking  taller 
from  their  erect  posture  and  slender  figure;  the  women  rather  shorter,  and 
more  inclined  to  obesity,  but  many  of  them  with  symmetrical  figure  and 
pleasing  countenance;  hands  and  feet  of  both  men  and  women  small. 

As  before  said,  however,  there  being  some  hundreds  of  tribes  among  the 


114  TRIALS  AMD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

American  Indians,  there  arc  many  departures  from  these  general  characteris- 
tics, not  only  in  individuals,  but  entire  septs.  "The  Americans,"  says 
Pricliard,  "are  not  all  of  the  hue  denominated  red,  tliat  is,  of  a  copper  color; 
some  tribes  are  as  white  as  many  European  nations;  others  brown  or  yellow- 
others  are  black,  or,  at  least,  they  are  described  by  travelers  as  very  much 
resembling  in  color  the  negroes  of  Africa.  Anatomists  have  distinguished 
what  they  have  termed  the  American  form  of  the  human  skull:  they  were  led 
into  this  mistake  by  regarding  the  strongly  marked  characteristics  of  some 
particular  tribes  as  universal.  The  American  nations  are  spread  over  a  vast 
space,  and  live  in  different  climates,  and  the  shape  of  their  heads  is  difTerent 
in  different  parts.  Nor  will  any  epithet  derived  from  their  habits  of  life  apply 
to  all  the  tribes  of  this  department.  The  native  Americans  are  not  all  hunters, 
there  are  many  fishing  tribes  among  them;  some  are  nomadic;  others  culti- 
vate the  earth,  and  live  in  settled  habitations;  and  of  these  a  part  were  agri- 
culturists before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans;  others  have  learned  of  their 
conquerors  to  till  the  soil,  and  have  changed  the  ancient  habits  of  their  race, 
which,  as  we  may  hence  infer,  were  not  the  necessary  result  of  organization  or 
congenital  and  instinctive  propensity."  Dr.  Morton's  views  on  this  subject 
substantially  agree  with  those  of  Prichard;  and  both  concur  in  adopting  the 
test  of  language  as  a  proof  of  one  common  origin  for  the  various  native  tribes 
of  both  North  and  South  America. 

The  Indian  tribes  that  once  ruled  over  the  present  limits  of  this  country 
are  generally  grouped  into  nine  nations  or  families.  The  Algonquin  or  Algic 
family  occupied  the  whole  basin  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  its  lakes,  the  western 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  down  to  the  fifty-fifth  degree  of  latitude,  and  the 
v.hole  Atlantic  shore  to  about  the  same  parallel.  Below  them  lay  the 
jNIobilian  or  Muscolgee  tribes,  reaching  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Encircled  by 
tiiese  two  great  families  lay  two  isolated  groups,  peculiar  in  all  their  institutes 
and  destined  to  attain  a  greater  eminence  than  the  rest;  these  were  the  Huron- 
Iroquois,  extending  from  Lakes  Huron  and  Ontario,  in  a  solid  body  or  in 
scattered  clans,  to  North  Carolina,  and  south  of  them  the  Cherokees. 

Of  the  Algonquin  tribes,  all  on  the  borders  of  Canada  were  gained  in 
process  of  time  to  the  faith.  A  brief  statement  will  show  their  chief  divisions. 
Above  the  St  Lawrence,  bordering  on  the  Esquimaux  of  Labrador,  and 
stretching  off  towards  Hudson's  Bay,  were  the  Montagnais;  below  the 
gulf  lay  the  Gaspesians  and  Micmacs,  or  Souriquois,  occupying  the  present 
colonies  of  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia.     Maine  was  occupied  by  the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  I15 

tribes  of  the  Almakis,  the  headwaters  of  the  Connecticut  by  the  Sokokis, 
while  along  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Ottawa  lay  the  Algonquins,  properly  so 
called,  with  the  Nipissings  dwelling  on  their  own  lake,  and  the  Attikamegues 
above  Three  Rivers.  Westward  still,  the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas  lay  near 
the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior,  while  below  roamed  the  Menomonee,  the  Sac, 
the  Fox,  the  Kikapoo,  the  Mascouten;  and  around  the  circling  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan  were  the  numerous  clans  of  the  Illinois  and  Miamis,  who  have  left 
their  names  to  the  territories  which  they  possessed. 

Of  these  tribes  we  shall  frequently  speak ;  they  were  all  mission  ground. 
In  the  part  occupied  by  the  English  and  Dutch,  other  tribes  of  the  Algonquin 
stock  existed,  to  whom,  with  few  exceptions,  the  gospel  was  never  preached, 
and  who  have  now  mostly  perished.  New  England  was  inhabited  by  the 
Narragansetts,  Pequods,  and  other  tribes  of  similar  origin;  the  Mohegans  lay 
on  the  Connecticut  and  Hudson,  the  Lenni  Lenape  on  the  Delaware  and 
Susquehanna,  while  Virginia  was  occupied  by  the  Powhatan  clans,  and  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio  by  the  roving  Shawnees. 

The  Huron. Iroquois,  more  agricultural  and  sedentary  than  the  Algonquin 
tribes,  with  whom  they  were  ever  at  war,  occupied  a  territory  in  the  midst  of 
them.  Northmost  of  all,  the  Wyandots,  traders  of  the  west,  lay  in  their 
densely  peopled  villages,  well  fortified  by  ditch  and  palisade  on  a  small  penin- 
sula in  Lake  Huron;  southwest  lay  their  allies,  the  Tionontates,  whose  luxu- 
riant fields  of  tobacco  won  for  them  and  their  fertile  hills  the  name  of  Petuns; 
and  south  and  east  of  these,  stretching  beyond  the  Niagara  and  its  marvellous 
cataract,  lay  the  many  clans  of  the  Atiwandaronk,  friends  to  the  Huron  and 
Algonquin,  friends  too  to  the  Iroquois,  and  called  by  the  French  the  Neutral 
Nation.  East  of  these  in  New  York,  stretching  from  the  Genesee  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Mohawk,  lay  the  five  clans,  who  are  now  known  collectively  by  the 
French  name,  Iroquois.  West  of  these,  on  the  southern  shores  of  Lake  Erie, 
lay  the  far-famed  archers,  the  Eries  or  Cat  tribe,  who  have  melted  away  like 
a  dream;  on  the  Susquehanna  were  the  Conestogues,  friends  of  the  Huron 
and  the  Swede,  few  but  brave;  and  below  them,  amid  the  Powhatans,  the 
traveler  would  find  the  wigwam  of  the  Mcherrin,  the  Tutelo,  and  the  clan 
whom  the  Algonquins  called  Nottoway;  and  still  further  south  in  modern 
Carolina,  ruled  the  fiery  Tuscarora,  last  of  the  clans  of  the  lluron-Iroquois. 

Close  on  the  last  of  this  great  family  came  the  mountain  home  of  the 
Cherokee,  and  its  sands  laden  with  gold.  Below  them  still  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Mississippi,  were  found  the  clans  of  the  Muscolgee  — the  Creek,  th« 


Il6  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Yamassee,  the  Apalache,  the  Coosa,  the  Choctaw,  tlie   Chickasaw  with  the 
Natchez  and  other  tribes  who  claimed  another  lineage. 

West  of  the  Mississippi,  from  its  source  to  the  Arltansas,  spread  tribes  of 
the  Dakota  family — the  Sioux,  the  Assiniboins,  the  Kappas  ;  while  on  the 
southwest  lay  the  New  Mexican  tribes,  and  beyond  the  mountains  the  many 
tribes  which  still  people  California  and  Oregon. 

Among  all  the  tribes  thus  catalogued  war  was  esteemed  the  most  honor- 
able employment,  and  next  to  it  ranked  hunting  and  fishing.  The  weapons 
of  the  Indians  were  bows  and  arrows,  spears,  clubs,  and  tomahawks.  The 
arrows  and  spears  were  pointed  with  horn,  or  sharp  pieces  of  flint  stone.  The 
clubs  consisted  of  heavy  pieces  of  knotted  wood  hardened  in  the  fire;  while 
the  tomahawks  were  simply  stone  hatchets,  with  hickory  branches  twisted 
around  them  for  handles  and  smoothed  down  to  a  sharj)  edge.  The  Indian's 
SKJll  in  the  use  of  his  arms  was  proverbial.  In  his  hands  the  bow  and  arrow 
were  no  mean  weapons.  Pitched  battles,  or  general  engagements  were  un- 
known until  the  natives  learned  of  the  wliitc  man  to  inake  war  on  a  large 
scale.  Their  hostile  movements  were  generally  skillful  dashes  of  a  few  war- 
riors into  the  enemy's  country,  taking  some  scalps,  doing  all  the  mischief  they 
could,  and  returning  with  as  little  injury  as  possible  to  themselves.  The  great 
point  of  their  tactics  was  surprise.  Comparative  rank  of  chiefs  and  warriors 
often  depended  on  the  number  of  scalps  they  had  taken.  If  made  prisoner, 
the  Indian  brave  was  subjected  to  the  most  cruel  treatment,  being  burned  at 
the  stake  by  a  slow  fire.  Sometimes,  as  a  tribute  of  respect  to  manly  forti- 
tude, mercy  took  the  place  of  ferocity,  and  the  half-murdered  warrior  was 
adopted  as  a  brother  by  his  enemies.  Often,  as  a  religious  ceremony,  the  flesh 
of  the  unhappy  victim  was  eaten,  his  heart  being  divided  into  small  pieces, 
and  given  to  the  young  men  and  boys,  that  it  might  communicate  its  courage  ■ 
to  them.  Cannibalism  to  this  extent  was  practiced  both  by  the  Hurons  and 
Iroquois.  The  dying  warrior  made  it  a  point  of  honor  to  endure  these  awful 
torments  with  unshaken  heroism.  To  his  last  breath  he  taunted  his  savage 
tormenters,  and  boldly  shouted  his  death-song  from  among  the  flames. 

Women,  among  the  Indians,  was  a  degraded  being — a  slave.  To  her 
life  there  was  no  bright  side.  She  did  all  the  drudgery  of  the  wigwam,  raised 
the  crops  of  corn,  and,  in  their  wanderings,  bore  the  heavy  burdens.  In  the 
words  of  Champlain,  "their  women  were  their  mules."  Catholicity  first  taught 
the  Indian  that  the  squaw  was  equal  to  the  warrior;  and  that  the  sex  which  our 
divine  Lord  honored  by  making  one  of  them   His  mother,  must  be  respected. 


CATHOLIC   CIHRCII  IX  AMERICA  H; 

The  Iiulian  system  of  government  was  exceedingly  simple,  and,  in  many 
respects,  worthy  of  serious  study. 

The  fifty  sachems  of  the  famous  Iroquois  formed  the  government  of  that 
confederacy.  The  learned  Jesuit  missionary,  Lafitau,  tells  us  that  this  great 
Council  of  Fifty  would,  in  .wisdom  and  eloquence,  compare  very  favorably 
with  the  Roman  Senate  in  the  early  days  of  the  Republic.  He  thus  describes 
that  singular  legislative  body:  "It  is  a  greasy  assemblage,  sitting  sur  leur 
derriere,  crouched  like  apes,  their  knees  as  high  as  their  ears,  or  lying  some 
on  their  bellies,  some  on  their  backs,  each  with  a  pipe  in  his  mouth,  discussing 
affairs  of  state  with  as  much  coolness  and  gravity  as  the  Spanish  Junta  or  the 
Grand  Council  of  Venice."  In  fact,  the  code  that  obtained  among  the  Five 
Nations  was  the  masterpiece  of  Indian  jurisprudence.  Both  as  law-givers 
and  as  warriors  they  towered  above  all  other  tribes  within  the  limits  of  our 
country. 

The  general  form  of  government  common  among  the  Indians,  is  thus 
tersely  and  correctly  stated  by  a  late  writer:  "The  head  of  each  tribe  was  a 
chief,  or  sachem,  sometimes  so  by  birth,  but  generally  chosen  on  account  of 
his  bravery,  or  wisdom,  or  eloquence.  His  opinion,  if  supported  by  a  counsel 
of  the  elders,  was  the  only  law.  But  he  had  no  means  of  enforcing  it  on 
those  who  were  unwilling  to  obey.  His  influence  depended  wholly  on  his 
personal  character.  The  warriors  followed  him  on  a  war  partv  only  if  they 
chose.  There  could  be  no  compulsion.  Proud  as  the  Indian  was  in  many 
things  that  of  which  he  was  most  proud  was  his  personal  freedom." 

It  is  a  popular  notion  that  the  priniilive  Indians  worshiped  God  under 
the  name  of  the  Great  Spirit.  Nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth: 
The  fact  is,  the  primitive  Indian  was  as  ignorant  of  Almighty  God  as  he  was 
of  Christian  morality  and  the  elegancies  of  life.  And  as  he  first  obtained 
firearms  from  the  white  man,  so  he  first  learned  this  greatest  of  all  truths — 
the  existence  of  one  God — from  the  lips  of  the  Catholic  missionary.  No 
Indian  dialect  had  an  equivalent  term  for  our  word  God,  which  had  to  be 
translated  in  a  roundabout  manner  by  saying  the  "  Great  Spirit  that  lives 
above,"  the  "Great  Chief  of  Men,"  "the  Great  Ruler  of  the  Skies,"  or 
something  to  that  effect.  If  they  had  anything  in  common  with  Christianity, 
it  was  their  belief  in  the  existence  of  the  soul,  and  of  a  spirit. land,  or  future 
state.  For  all  there  was,  however,  but  one  spirit-land,  yet  all  were  not  to  be 
equally  liappy  when  they  reached  that  bourne  whence  no  traveler  returns. 
"  Skillful  iuinters  and  brave  warriors  went  to  the  happy  hunting  ground ;  while 


Ilg  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  slothful,  the  cowardly,  and  the  weak  were  doomed  to  eat  serpents  and 
ashes  in  dreary  regions  of  mist  and  darkness.  According  to  some  Algonquin 
traditions,  heaven  was  a  scene  of  endless  festivity,  the  gh'osts  dancing  to  the 
sound  of  the  rattle  and  the  drum,  and  greeting  with  hosjjitable  welcome  the 
occasional  visitor  from  the  living  world ;  for  the  spirit-land  was  not  far  off, 
and  roving  hunters  sometimes  passed  its  confines  unawares. 

As  a  whole,  the  Indian's  belief  was  really  a  ridiculous  medley  of  super- 
stition and  idolatry.  "  Pure  unmixed  devil-worship,"  says  Shea,  "  prevailed 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land."  Some  tribes  paid  honors 
to  the  calumet.  Father  Marquette  tells  us  that  the  Illinois,  who  dwelt  on 
the  upper  Mississippi,  "  adored  the  sun  and  thunder."  Father  Doury,  who 
accompanied  La  Salle's  expedition,  found  the  Indians  of  Lower  Mississippi 
paying  divine  honors  to  the  sun.  Fathers  Dablon  and  Allouez  tell  us  of  an 
Indian  idol  which  they  discovered  on  the  banks  of  Fox  River,  near  Green 
Bay,  Wisconsin.  It  was  "  merely  a  rock  bearing  some  resemblance  to  a 
man,  and  hideously  painted.  With  the  help  of  their  attendant  they  threw  it 
into  the  water." 

The  Indian  fancied  that  manitous  were  in  everything — men,  animals, 
lakes,  rivers,  hills,  and  valleys.  To  his  rude  and  narrow  mind  these  manitous 
had  it  in  their  power  to  cause  disaster  or  triumph,  health  or  sickness,  life  or 
death.  Besides,  there  were  good  and  bad  manitous,  great  and  small  manitous. 
Their  bad  manitous  answer  to  our  devil.  But  it  inay  be  proper  to  call  to  our 
assistance  one  of  the  old  missionaries  in  order  to  explain  this  complicated  sub- 
ject of  Indian  worship;  and  to  exhibit  the  rascality  of  that  most  accomplished 
of  red-skin  rogues — the  medicine-man,  or  Indian  conjurer. 

"It  would  be  difficult,"  writes  Father  Marest,  S.J.,  "to  say  what  is  the 
religion  of  our  Indians.  It  consists  entirely  of  some  superstitions  with  which 
their  credulity  is  amused.  As  all  their  knowledge  is  limited  to  an  acquaint- 
ance with  brutes,  and  to  the  necessities  of  life,  so  it  is  to  these  things  that  all 
their  worship  is  confined.  Their  medicine-man,  who  have  a  little  more  intel- 
lect than  the  rest,  gain  the  respect  of  the  Indians  by  their  ability  to  deceive 
them.  These  jugglers  persuade  the  others  that  they  honor  a  kind  of  spirit  to 
whom  they  give  the  name  of  manitou;  and  teach  them  that  it  is  this  spirit 
which  governs  all  things,  and  is  master  of  life  and  death.  A  bird,  a  buffalo, 
a  bear,  or  rather  the  plumage  of  these  birds,  and  the  skins  of  these  beasts — 
such  is  their  manitou.  They  hang  it  up  in  their  wigwams,  and  offer  it 
sacrifices  of  dogs  and  other  animals.         .         .         .         . 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  1 19 

These  medicine-men  have  recourse  to  their  manitous  when  composing  their 
remedies,  or  when  attempting  to  cure  the  diseased.  They  accompany  their 
invocations  with  chants,  and  dances,  and  friglitful  contortions  to  iniluce  tlie 
belief  that  they  are  inspired  by  their  manitous.  .  .  .  During  these  dif- 
ferent contortions,  the  medicine-man  names  sometimes  one  animal  and  some- 
times another,  and  at  last  applies  himself  to  suck  that  part  of  the  body  in 
which  the  sick  person  complains  of  pain.  After  having  done  so  for  some 
time  he  suddenly  raises  himself  and  throws  out  to  the  sick  person  the  tooth  of 
a  bear  or  of  some  other  animal,  which  he  had  kept  concealed  in  his  mouth. 
'Dear  friend,'  he  cries,  'you  will  live!  See  what  it  was  that  was  killing 
you!'  After  which  he  says  in  applauding  himself:  'Who  can  resist  my 
manitou?  Is  he  not  the  one  who  is  the  master  of  life?'  If  the  patient  hap- 
pens to  die,  he  immediately  has  some  deceit  ready  prepared  to  ascribe  the 
death  to  some  other  cause,  which  took  place  after  he  had  left  the  sick  man. 
But  if,  on  the  contrary,  he  should  recover  his  health,  it  is  then  that  the  medi- 
cine-man receives  consideration,  and  is  himself  regarde  1  as  a  manitou!  After 
being  well  rewarded  for  his  labors,  the  best  that  the  vi.lage  produces  is  spread 
out  to  regale  him. 

"  These  jugglers  are  a  great  obstacle  to  the  conversion  of  the  Indians. 
In  every  way  in  their  power  they  persecute  and  torment  the  Christians. 

"  One  of  them  was  about  to  shoot  a  young  girl  who  passed  by  his  wig- 
wam door.  Seeing  a  pair  of  beads  in  her  hands,  he  wickedly  thought  they 
had  caused  his  father's  death;  ami  was  on  the  point  of  firing  at  her,  when 
some  other  Indians  prevented  him. 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  how  often  I  have  received  gross  insults  from  them, 
nor  how  many  times  I  should  have  expired  under  their  blows,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  particular  protection  of  God.  On  one  occasion,  among  others,  one  of 
them  would  have  split  my  head  with  his  hatchet,  had  I  not  turned  at  the  very 
time  his  arm  was  raised  to  strike  me." 

As  the  most  singular  of  the  objects  worshiped  by  some  of  the  tribes 
and  venerated  by  all  of  them,  must  be  mentioned  the  all-mysterious  Calumet. 
Father  Marcjuette  thus  writes  of  it:  "Men  do  not  pay  to  the  crowns  and  scep- 
tres of  kings  the  honor  they  (the  Indians)  pay  to  the  Calumet;  it  seems  to  be 
the  god  of  peace  and  war,  the  arbiter  of  life  and  death.  Carry  it  about  you  and 
show  it,  and  you  can  march  fearlessly  amid  enemies,  who  even  in  the  heat  of 
battle  lay  down  their  arms  when  it  is  shown.  They  use  it  for  settling  dis- 
putes, strengthening  alliances,  and  speaking  to  strangers."     The  same  father 


120  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

describes  a  Calumet  wliicli  the  Illinois  presentccl  him  when  descending  the 
great  river  as  "  made  of  polished  red  stone,  like  marble,  so  pierced  that  one 
end  serves  to  hold  the  tobacco,  while  the  other  is  fastened  on  the  stem,  which 
is  a  stick  two  feet  long,  as  thick  as  a  common  cane,  and  pierced  in  the  middle. 
It  is  ornamented  with  the  head  and  neck  of  different  birds  of  beautiful  plum- 
age; they  also  add  large  feathers  of  green,  red,  and  other  colors,  with  which 
it  is  all  covered." 

The  Indian  languages  most  widely  diffused  were  those  spoken  by  the 
great  tribes  already  mentioned.  Nearlj'  all  had  quite  limited  vocabularies. 
The  northern  dialects  were  exceedingly  harsh  and  guttural.  In  the  Algonquin 
tongue — the  most  extensively  spoken  of  them  all — the  words  had  few  vowels, 
and  were  "often  of  intolerable  length,  occasioned  by  complicated  grammatical 
forms  —  a  whole  sentence  by  means  of  suffixes  and  affixes  being  often 
expressed  in  a  single  word."  This  was  a  marked  characteristic  of  nearly 
all  the  Indian  dialects  The  Wyandot  language,  spoken  by  the  Ilurons  and 
Iroquois,  was  more  sonorous  than  the  Algonquin.  The  Mobilian  included 
the  kindred  dialects  of  the  Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  Creeks,  Seminoles,  Yazoos 
and  others.  "Compared  with  the  northern  languages,  the  Cherokee  and 
Mobilian  are  soft  and  musical,  thus  indicating  the  long.continued  influence  of 
a  southern  climate." 

As  specimens  of  the  languages  once  spoken  on  the  banks  of  the 
Kennebec,  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Great  Lakes,  and  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  may  prove  both  curious  and  interesting  to  the  American  reader 
of  to-day,  a  few  are  here  given.  They  consist  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  trans- 
lated into  the  various  dialects  mentioned  below.  For  these  linguistic  curiosi- 
ties we  are  indebted  to  the  learning  of  Catholic  missionaries — the  only  white 
men  who  ever  thoroughly  mastered  the  Indian  tongues. 

1.  The  Lord's  Prayer,  in  the  Abnaki  dialect,  the   most  ancient  of  the 

Algonquin  family  of  languages,  is  as  follows: 

"Kemitanksena  spomkik  ayan  waiwaielmoguatch  ayiliwisian  amantai  paitriwai 
witawaikai  ketepelta  mohanganeck  aylikitankonak  ketelailtamohangan  spomkik  tali 
yo  nampikik  paitchi  kik  tankouataitche  mainilinai  yo  paimi  ghisgak  daitaskiskouai 
aiponmena  jopa  katchi  anaihail  tama  wihaikai  kaissikakan  wihiolaikaipan  aliniona 
kisi  anihailtamakokaik  kaikauwia  kaitaiparjik  mosak  kaita  lichi  kitawikaik  tampamo- 
hontchi  saghi  houeneminamai  on  lahamistakai  saghihousouaminai  mamait  chikil, 
Nialest." 

2.  The  same  in  the  Huron  or  Wyandot  language: 

"  Onaistan  de  aronhiae  istare.  Sasen  t^-hondachiendatere  sachiendaonan.  Ont 
aioton  sa  cheonandiosta  endind(j.     Ont  ainton  scnchien  sarasta  ohoiient  soone  ach</  toti 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  121 

iotl  Aronhiaone.  Ataindataia  sen  nonenda  tara  cha  ecantate  aoiiantehan.  Onta 
taoiiandionrhens,  sen  atonarrihoiianderacoC;,  to  chienne  iotinendi  onsa  onendionrhens 
de  oua.  Onkirrihouanderai.   Enon  che  chanaalakhionindashas  d'oucaota.  Ca  sent!  ioti." 

3.  The  same  in  one  of  the  chief  dialects  of  the  California  Indians: 
"Ghana  ech  tupana  ave  onech,  otune  a  cuachin,  chame  om  reino  libi  yb  chosonec 

esna  tupana  chain  nechetepe,  micate  torn  cha  chaom,  pepsum  yg  car  caychamo  y  i 
julugcalme  cai  ech.     Depupnn  opco  chamo  chum  oyote.     Amen." 

4.  The  same  in  the  present  language  of  the  Caughnawagas,who  inhabit 
a  village  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  at  the  head  of  St.  Louis  Rapids, 
near  Montreal: 

"Takwaienka  ne  karonhiake  tesUeron,  aiesasennaien,  aiesawenniiostake,  aies- 
awennarakwake  nonwentsiake  Isiniiot  ne  karonhiake  tiesawennarakwa.  Takwanout 
ne  ken wente  iakionnhekon  niahte wenniserake ;  sasanikonrheus  nothenon  ionkinikouhr- 
aksaton  non  kwe ;  tosa  aionkwasenni  ne  kariwaneren,  akwekon  eren  sawit  ne  iotaksens 
ethonaiawen." 

The  English  language  is  indebted  to  the  Indians  for  a  number  of  com- 
mon words.  Among  them  are  canoe,  potato,  tobacco,  tomahawk,  wigwam, 
hammock,  squaw,  sachem,  and  others.  They  have  also  bequeathed  to  us 
nearly  all  the  really  beautiful  names  of  our  states,  lakes  and  rivers.  An 
American  poet,  Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney,  has  clothed  this  fact  in  some  exquisite 

otanzas: 

You  say,  they  all  have  passed  away, 

That  noble  race  and  brave, 
That  their  light  canoes  have  vanished 

From  off  the  crested  wave; 
That  'mid  the  forests  where  they  roamed, 

There  rings  no  hunter's  shout; 
But  their  name  is  on  your  waters. 

You  may  not  wash  it  out. 

'Tis  where  Ontario's  billow 

Like  ocean's  surge  is  curled, 
Where  strong  Niagara's  thunders  wake 

The  echo  of  the  world; 
Where  red  Missouri  bringeth 

Rich  tributes  from  the  West, 
And  Rappahannock  sweetly  sleeps 

On  green  Virginia's  breast. 

You  say,  their  cone-like  cabins. 

That  clustered  o'er  the  vale. 
Have  fled  away  like  withered  leaves 

Before  the  autumn  gale; 
But  their  memory  liveth  on  your  hills, 

Their  baptism  on  your  shore. 
Your  everlasting  rivers  speak 

Their  dialect  of  yore. 


122 


TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 


Old  Massachusetts  wears  it 

Within  her  lordly-  crown, 
And  broad  Ohio  bears  it 

Amid  her  young  renown; 
Connecticut  hath  wreathed  it 

Where  her  quiet  foliage  waves, 
And  bold  Kentucky  breathes  it  hoarse 

Through  all  her  ancient  caves. 

We  have  but  to  vocalize  some  of  these   names  anil  the  dullest  ear  is 
pleased  with  the  sweet  music  of  the  sound.     I  here  give  a  few,  accompanied 

liy  their  signification  in  English: 


Indian  Names. 
Ohio, 
Ontario, 
Idaho, 
Cayuga, 
Alabama, 
Chicopee, 
Mohawk, 
Tennessee, 
Niagara, 
Wisconsin, 
Saratoga, 
Rappahannock, 
Mississippi, 
Missouri, 
Manhattan, 
Merrimac, 
Kennebec, 
Acadia, 
Tuscaloosa, 
Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, 
Onondaga, 
Kentucky, 
Toronto, 
Minnehaha, 


Meaning  in  English. 
Beautiful. 

Village  on  a  mountain. 
The  gem  of  the  momitains. 
Long  lake. 
Here  we  rest. 
Cedar  tree. 
Eaters  of  live  food. 
River  of  the  big  bend. 
Neck  of  water. 
Rushing  channel. 

Place  of  miraculous  waters  in  a  rock. 
River  of  rising  waters. 
The  Father  of  Waters,  or  Great  River. 
Muddy. 

Town  on  the  island. 
Swift  water. 
Long  river. 
Where  we  dwell. 
Black-warrior. 
Around  the  great  hills. 
Land  on  the  long  river. 
Place  of  the  hills. 
Dark  and  bloody  ground. 
Place  of  meeting. 


Laughing  waters — a  waterfall. 
As  the  Indians   had   no   written  language,  they  did  not  possess  any 
learning.     A  few  rude  drawings  on  skins  or  bark  formed  their  sole  record. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  1 23 

The  Franciscan ,  Dominican,  and  Jesuit  missionaries  were  the  first  Europeans 
who  set  about  the  extremely  difficult  task  of  acquiring  the  Indian  languages. 
Father  Fareja,  O.S.F.,  published  an  Indian  catechism  as  early  as  1593. 
Father  Brebeuf,  S.J.,  wrote  a  Huron  catechism,  Father  Chaumonot,  S.J.,  a 
Huron  dictionary,  and  Father  Bruyas,  S.J.,  an  Iroquois  dictionary;  while 
Father  White,  S.J.,  did  the  same  for  the  Maryland  Indians,  and  Father 
Rale,  S.J.,  for  the  Abnaki  of  Maine.  Numerous  Catholic  prayer-books, 
catechisms,  and  qther  works  of  devotion  have,  at  various  times,  appeared  in 
different  Indian  dialects.  Of  the  present  century,  the  best  known  Indian 
scholars  are  Bishop  Baraga,  Father  De  Smet,  S.J.,  Rev.  Dr.  Vetromile,  Rev. 
Joseph  Marcoux  and  the  late  Dr.  John  Gilmary  Shea. 

Besides  claiming  the  honor  of  having  discovered  America,  the  Church 
rightly  lays  claim  to  the  honor  of  civilizing  its  interesting  people.  She  was 
the  first  to  succeed  in  obtaining  gentle  treatment,  and  indeed  freedom  itself, 
for  these  aborigines.  In  1537  Pope  Paul  the  Third  declared  in  an  apostolic 
brief  that  the  native  Indians  of  America  were  really  and  truly  free  men  who 
should  not  be  reduced  to  slavery. 

Throughout  the  four  hundred  years  that  have  well  nigh  elapsed  since 
the  cross  of  Christ  was  first  planted  in  American  soil,  the  Church  has  con- 
tiiuiid  to  send  forth  from  European  lands,  heroes  of  faith  and  charity  to 
bring  the  Indians,  as  well  as  the  bold  European  pioneers,  into  a  state  of 
civilization.  Who  does  not  know,  honor,  and  bless  the  name  of  that  noble 
son  of  the  Church,  the  illustrious  Dominican  monk,  Father  Las  Casas,  of 
whom  a  brief  history  may  here  be  fitly  presented. 

Bartholomew  Las  Casas,  the  renowned  missionary  and  friend  of  the  poor 
Indians,  was  born  in  the  year  1474,  at  Seville,  in  Spain.  He  belonged  to  a 
family  of  French  origin.  While  the  young  man  was  pursuing  his  studies  at 
the  University  of  Salamanca,  his  father — who  had  accompanied  Columbus  in 
his  second  voyage  to  the  New  World — made  him  a  gift  of  an  Indian,  who 
acted  for  some  time  as  his  servant.  But  the  generous  Isabella  soon  published 
a  decree,  giving  freedom  tp  all  Indians  in  Spain.  The  pious  student  at  once 
joyfully  liberated  his  dusky  servant,  "and  sent  him  back  to  his  native  land 
loaded  with  presents."  Thus  it  happonctl  that  the  untlinching  advocate  of 
human  freedom  had  once  been  the  owner  of  a  slave  himself,  and  that  he  had 
made  the  familiar  acquaintance  of  a  simple  son  of  the  forest  at  that  happy 
period  of  life  when  the  mind  is  open  to  receive  deep  and  lasting  impressions. 

In  1502,  Las  Casas  accompanied  Ovando  in  his  expedition  to  Hispaniola, 


124  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

and  eight  years  later  he  was  ordained  priest — the  first,  it  is  said,  who  was 
raised  to  that  sacred  dignity  in  the  New  World.  When  the  Spaniards  con- 
quered Cuba  he  was  appointed  to  a  parish  in  a  small  settlement.  It  was  here 
that  he  began  to  signalize  himself  in  favor  of  the  oppressed  Indians,  and  to 
raise  his  voice  in  accents  of  holy  indignation  against  the  crimes  of  his  own 
countrymen. 

Cuba,  the  largest  of  the  Antilles,  ami  most  important  transmarine  posses- 
sion of  Spain,  has  a  length  of  rather  more  than  750  miles.  It  is  larger  than 
Ireland,  and  less  than  England.  The  surface  is  mountainous  at  the  south-east 
coast,  where  the  Sierra  Maestra,  rising  in  some  jilaces  to  an  elevation  of  8000 
ftet,  runs  from  Cape  de  Cruz  to  Cape  de  Mayzi.  In  the  central  part  of  the 
island  there  are  rugged  hilly  districts  between  Santa  Clara  and  Puerto  Prin- 
cipe, and  also  north-west  of  Trinidad.  What  remains  of  the  country,  although 
undulating,  consists  chiefly  of  well-watered  plains,  which  everywhere  support 
a  lu.xuriant  vegetation.  Rocky  reefs  and  muddy  shallows  beset  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  coast.  In  some  localities,  however,  the  sea  is  deep  to  the  very 
shore,  ofifering  many  excellent  havens,  and  those,  too,  situated  on  the  busiest 
thoroughfares  of  the  western  hemisphere;  the  chief  of  these  being  Havana, 
the  admirable  situation  of  which  makes  it  the  emporium  of  Central  America. 
A  somewhat  elevated  watershed  crosses  the  island  in  the  direction  of  its  length 
and  as  the  streams  run  at  right  angles  to  it,  they  are  necessarily  short.  In 
1499,  Cuba,  which  is  often  spoken  of  as  the  "Pearl"  or  "Queen  of  the 
Antilles,"  was  discovered  by  Columbus  during  his  first  voyage.  In  1511,  the 
island  began  to  be  permanently  colonized,  becoming,  within  ten  years,  the 
base  of  all  the  various  operations  against  Mexico. 

At  this  period,  under  the  title  of  repartimientos  or  distributions,  whole 
districts  of  the  newly-found  countries  were  held  by  Spanish  noblemen  or 
adventurers.  The  poor  savages  were  divided  with  the  lands,  which  they  were 
compelled  to  cultivate.  They  had  also  to  dig  in  the  mines,  or  hunt  the  rivers 
for  precious  stones.  So  hard  were  their  cruel  taskmasters  that  the  native 
race  began  to  wither  away.  It  was  a  diabolical  system  and  brought  its 
retribution  on  the  Spaniards  in  our  own  day. 

"The  Indians  were  coupled  together  like  beasts  of  burden,"  says  Charle- 
voix, "and  when  forced  to  carry  loads  wholly  beyond  their  strength  they  were 
urged  forward  by  the  lash.  On  falling  from  exhaustion,  a  vigorous  use  of  the 
whip  obliged  them  to  rise.  A  colonist,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  rarely  wen' 
any  distance  from  his  house  except  when  borne  in  a  litter  by  two  Indians. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  125 

"  There  was  no  scruple  made  of  separating  husband  and  wife — the  man 
being  sent  to  the  mines,  from  which  he  seldom  returned,  and  the  woman 
being  employed  in  the  cultivation  of  the  lands.  While  engaged  in  this 
severe  labor  they  were  all  forced  to  live  on  roots  and  herbs.  To  see  them  die 
of  such  violence  and  of  pure  fatigue  was  an  ordinary  spectacle." 

"I  have  found  many  deaden  the  road,"  says  Las  Casas,  "others  gasp- 
ing under  the  trees,  and  others  in  the  pangs  of  death,  faintly  crying,  hunger  ! 
hunger  !" 

The  good  priest  was  touched  to  the  heart  at  the  sight  of  such  shameful 
scandals  and  appalling  injustice.  How  could  religion  make  any  progress  ? 
It  was  mockery  indeed  to  expect  that  the  Indians  would  sincerely  embrace 
the  Christian  religion — the  faith  of  their  heartless  and  tyrannical  oppressors. 

To  oppose  the  cruel  system  of  repartimientos.  Father  Las  Casas  went  to 
Spain,  where  he  prevailed  on  Cardinal  Ximenes  to  send  a  commission  of 
inquiry  to  the  West  Indies;  but  the  work  of  the  commission  was  far  from 
satisfying  his  zeal,  and  he  revisited  Spain  to  procure  the  adoption  of  still 
stronger  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  natives.  lie  was  honored  with 
the  title  of  Protector  General  of  the  Indians,  and  his  exertions  in  their  behalf 
were  unceasing. 

He  carried  his  cause  before  Charles  V,  and  as  he  had  warm  opponents, 
the  emperor  first  heard  the  spokesman  of  the  opposition.  When  the  turn  of 
Las  Casas  came,  he  arose  with  dignity  and  presented  the  rights  of  the 
Indians  in  a  discourse  of  great  vigor  and  eloquence. 

"  The  Christian  religion,"  he  concluded,  "is  equal  in  its  operation,  and 
is  accommodated  to  every  nation  on  the  globe.  It  robs  no  one  of  his  freedom, 
violates  none  of  his  inherent  rights  on  the  ground  that  he  is  a  slave  by  nature, 
as  pretended ;  and  it  well  becomes  your  majesty  to  banish  so  monstrous  an 
oppression  from  your  kingdoms  in  the  beginning  of  your  reign,  that  the 
Almighty  may  make  it  long  and  glorious." 

Las  Casas  gained  his  point.  In  1520  he  attempted  to  form  a  settlement 
of  Castilian  peasants  in  the  West  Indies,  with  a  view  of  giving  more  com- 
plete effect  to  his  designs  in  behalf  of  the  Indians;  but  unhappily,  he  had  to 
contend  against  such  a  host  of  difficulties  that  his  plan  ended  in  failure.  He 
had  hitherto  been  a  secular  priest.  He  now  retired  to  the  Dominican  convent 
in  Ilispanioln,  and  became  a  son  of  St.  Dominic.  His  well-spent  time  was 
divided  between  spiritual  duties,  missions,  and  the  composition  of  various 
famous  works  relating  to  the  New  World  and  the  cause  of  his   dear  Indians. 


126  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

He  traversed  Mexico,  Peru,  Guatemala,  and  other  vast  countries,  everywhere 
exercising  the  double  functions  of  missionary  apostolic  and  protector  of  the 
Indians. 

The  venerable  priest  refused  the  rich  bishopric  of  Cusco,  in  Peru;  but, 
at  lenjjth,  he  was  persuaded  to  accept  the  poor  sec  of  Chiapa,  in  a  wild  prov- 
ince of  Mexico.  He  was  near  seventy  years  of  a<jc  when  he  began  his  epis- 
copal labors.  How  he  toiled  and  suffered,  and  battled  for  the  rights  of  the 
rcil  man,  and  pointed  out  the  road  to  Heaven  with  dauntless  courage,  cannot 
be  told  here. 

In  1 55 1,  the  great  bishop  resigned  his  see.  He  crossed  the  Atlantic  for 
the  last  time,  retired  to  the  Monastery  of  Atocha,  at  Madrid,  where  he  spent 
many  years  in  preparing  his  soul  for  that  blessed  end  which  came  in  July, 
1566.  He  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-two,  and  his  faculties  were 
unimpaired  to  the  last. 

Las  Casas  was  a  sainted  Catholic  missionary,  who  loved  justice  and 
abhorred  iniquity.  He  was  inspired  by  one  great  and  glorious  idea.  He  crossed 
the  Atlantic  sixteen  times,  and  toiled  for  over  half  a  century,  in  the  midst  of 
danger,  hardship,  and  soul-trying  opposition,  to  ameliorate  the  unhappy  con- 
dition of  the  Indians,  and  to  spread  the  light  of  the  gospel  in  the  dark  wilder- 
ness of  the  New  World.  Nor  was  his  pen  less  active  and  eloquent  than  his 
tongue.  He  is  one  of  the  great  writers  of  Spain.  "In  the  course  of  his  work," 
says  Irving,  "when  Las  Casas  mentions  the  original  papers  lying  before  him, 
from  which  he  drew  many  of  his  facts,  it  makes  one  lament  that  they  should 
be  lost  to  the  world.  Besides  the  journals  and  letters  of  Columbus,  he  says, 
he  had  numbers  of  the  letters  of  Don  Bartholomew,  who  wrote  better  than 
hisbrother,  and  whose  writings  must  have  been  full  of  energy.  Above  all, 
he  had  the  map,  formed  from  study  and  conjecture,  by  which  Columbus 
himself  sailed  on  his  first  voyage.  What  a  precious  document  would  this  be 
for  the  world  !" 


Cbapteit   VII. 


lUopk  of  Spanish  tDissfonanics. 


ROME  Proclaims  the  Fiei.d.— Twelve  Franciscan  Apostles. —  Wanderings 
OF  Friar  Mark.— Father  Padilla  and  Brother  John — Expedition  of 
Db  Soto.— The  Long  and  Terrible  March. — The  Leader's  Death  and 
Tomb.— Don  Tristan  as  an  Explorer.— An  Admiral  Seeks  his  Son. — 
Founding    of    Florida's    Capital.— Father   Martinez   Gains  his  Crown. 

(ITIIIN  two  month.s    after   the  return    of    Columbus  from   that 

momentous  first  voyage,  on   May  9,   1493,    the  Holy  Father  at 

»M^  '   y   •  ''^    Kome,  Pope    Alexander,   issued  to  the   Spanish   sovereigns  his 

J^*"*^^^  famous  bull.  Inter  cetera,  in  which  he  refers  to  the  late  discovery 

in  these  words: 

"  We  have  heard  to  our  great  joy  that  you  have  proposed  to  labor  and 
use  every  exertion  that  the  inhabitants  of  certain  islands  and  continents  re- 
mote and  hitherto  unknown,  and  of  others  yet  undiscovered,  be  reduced  to 
worship  our  Redeemer  and  profess  the  Catholic  faith.  You  sent,  not  with- 
out the  greatest  exertions,  dangers,  and  expense,  our  beloved  son,  Christopher 
Colon,  a  man  of  worth  and  much  to  be  commended,  fit  for  such  bui^iness, 
with  vessels  and  cargoes,  diligently  to  search  for  continents  and  remote  and 
unknown  islands  on  a  sea  hitherto  never  navigated;  who,  finally,  with  the 
divine  assistance  and  great  diligence,  navigated  the  vast  ocean  and  discovered 

127 


,28  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Or  THE 

certain  most  distant  islands  and  continents  which  were  previously  unknown, 
in  which  very  many  nations  dwell  peaceably,  and,  as  it  is  said,  g;o  naked  and 
abstain  from  animal  food,  etc." 

Further  on  His  Holiness  enjoins  it  as  a  duty  on  the  sovereigns,  to  send 
out  to  the  newly  discovered  countries  "•  tried  men,  who  fear  God,  and  skillful 
and  expert,  to  instruct  the  inhabitants  in  the  Catholic  faith,  and  teach  them 
good  morals." 

Catholic  priests  were  accordingly  sent  out  on  almost  every  voyage  with 
the  early  explorers,  and  the  planting  of  the  Cross  was  co-incident  with  their 
settlement  of  the  various  islands  of  the  West  Indies,  and  of  the  conquests 
made  in  Mexico  and  Peru.  Within  the  actual  limits  of  our  own  country — 
to  which  we  refer  distinctively  the  name  America — we  find  that  the  first 
Spanish  missionaries  set  foot  in  Florida  in  152S,  in  company  with  the  expedi- 
tion of  Narvaez.  The  latter  expected  to  found  an  empire  rivaling  in  wealth 
and  extent  that  of  Mexico,  so  recently  subjected  to  the  Spanish  arms  by 
the  prowess  of  Cort^z.  The  limits  of  the  new  empire  were  already  marked 
out  for  a  see,  which  took  its  title  from  the  Rio  de  las  Palmas — its  southern 
boundary — a  river  in  Mexico  between  Vera  Cruz  and  Tampico,  and  extended 
to  the  Cape  of  Florida. 

The  new  bishop  himself,  Juan  Juarez,  headed  the  band  of  missionaries. 
As  Father  Juarez,  he  had  been  one  of  the  twelve  Franciscans  who  were 
invited  to  Mexico  by  Cortdz  to  be  its  first  apostles,  and  whom  he  received 
with  great  honor  in  1524,  five  years  after  his  landing.  Father  Juarez  here 
distinguished  himself  by  his  zeal  and  his  love  and  care  for  the  Indians,  and 
his  appointment  as  the  new  bishop,  which  was  made  on  the  occasion  of  a 
subsequent  visit  to  Spain,  was  therefore  most  fitting. 

The  expedition  of  Narvaez  proved,  however,  a  failure,  and  in  its  failure 
was  involved  that  of  the  missionary  scheme  connected  with  it.  No  rich 
empire  met  the  commander's  expectant  gaze,  no  dusky  monarch  clad  in 
barbaric  splendor  and  surrounded  by  assiduous  courtiers  crossed  his  path  to 
question  his  purposes  or  withstand  his  advance.  He  encountered  only  strag- 
gling Indians  who  treacherously  led  him  on  to  his  ruin.  At  last,  weary,  dis- 
appointed, pinched  with  want,  and  decimated  by  disease  or  the  arrows  of 
ambushed  savages,  the  troops  of  Narvaez  forced  their  way  back  through  the 
jungle  to  the  shore  they  had  left.  Narvaez  had  injudiciously,  and  against 
the  advice  of  Bishop  Juarez,  ordered  his  ships  elsewhere,  and  the  only 
resource  of  the  party  was  to  escape  to  sea  as  best  they  might  in   the  rude 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  I29 

boats  they  constructed  for  the  purpose.  Four  only  remained  behind,  and 
these  saved  themselves  by  a  perilous  journey  across  the  continent.  The 
remainder  vk^ere  lost  at  sea,  or  were  cast  away  to  die  a  more  lingering  death 
by  starvation,  disease,  or  the  attacks  of  the  natives.  Among  the  latter  was 
the  party  of  Bishop  Juarez,  which  had  been  driven  ashore  on  Dauphin 
Island,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  of  which  nothing  further  was 
ever  heard. 

The  four  survivors  of  the  expedition  of  Narvaez  traversed  Texas  and 
New  Mexico,  and,  reaching  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  reappeared 
to  the  gaze  of  their  astonished  friends.  The  accounts  the)'  gave  of  the  king- 
doms and  cities  they  had  passed  on  their  journey — accounts  that  were  doubt- 
less somewhat  colored  by  their  imagination — came  to  the  ears  of  an  Italian 
friar  named  Mark,  and  excited  his  zeal  for  the  glorious  spiritual  conquest 
that  seemed  to  lie  before  him.  Placing  himself  under  the  guidance  of 
Stephen,  a  negro,  one  of  the  four  survivors  alluded  to,  and  attended  by  some 
friendly  Indians,  he  boldly  plunged  into  the  wilderness  which  skirted  the 
river  Gila.  Crossing  it,  he  continued  his  march  until  he  came  within  sight 
of  Cibola,  a  city  of  the  Zufii  tribe.  Here  he  sent  forward  Stephen  with  a 
party  of  the  Indian  attendants  to  prepare  the  way,  but  the  natives  drove 
them  back,  and  even  killed  Stephen  and  some  of  his  companions.  The  friar 
could  only  look  with  longing  eyes  towards  the  city  where  he  had  hoped  to 
garner  a  harvest  of  souls,  and  then  sorrowfully  began  to  retrace  his  steps. 
Ere  descending  the  hill  from  which  he  bade  farewell  to  the  city,  he,  however, 
planted  the  cross,  the  object  of  his  journey  and  the  emblem  of  his  mission. 

The  chieftain,  Coronado,  stimulated  by  the  representations  made  of  the 
supposed  riches  of  Cibola,  headed  an  expedition  fitted  out  by  the  government 
to  reduce  it.  He  followed  the  route  previously  traversed  by  Friar  Mark, 
who  accompanied  him,  together  with  a  number  of  other  Franciscans.  Cibola 
was  reached,  and  soon  yielded  to  the  invader,  but  so  bar-rcn  was  the  prize, 
that  Coronado  resolved  to  press  on  to  the  conquest  of  another  fabled  empire 
in  the  interior,  leaving  the  poor  friar,  overwhelmed  with  reproaches,  to 
return  home  in  shattered  health.     He  ended  his  days  shortly  after. 

When  Coronado,  weary  of  his  fruitless  journey,  resolved  to  return. 
Father  John  de  Fadilla,  one  of  the  Franciscans,  in  his  younger  days  a  soldier, 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  remain  at  the  Indian  town  of  Quivira,  west  of  the 
Rio  Grande.  Brother  John  of  the  Cross  proffered  a  similar  request  in  regard 
to  the  neighboring  village  of  Cicuye,  now  Pecos.     Bestowing  upon  them  a 


130  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

supply  of  live  stock,  and  some  Mexican  Indians  as  guides  and  assistants,  they 
were  left  about  midway  between  both  points.  Pecos  being  still  before  them, 
Brother  John  of  the  Cross  was  sent  on  with  an  escort  and  reached  it  safely. 
Father  Padilla  took  leave  of  his  countrymen  and  retraced  his  steps  to  Quivira 
with  his  Indian  converts.  Here  for  some  time  he  labored  assiduously,  but,  as 
it  would  seem,  almost  in  vain.  Hearing  of  a  tribe  more  docile  in  character, 
he  set  out  for  their  town,  but  on  the  road  was  suddenly  surrounded  by  a  con- 
siderable force  of  roving  Indians.  Conscious  of  his  danger,  he  urged  his 
companions  to  fly,  and  kneeling  down  prepared  to  die.  In  a  few  moments 
he  fell,  pierced  by  a  shower  of  arrows,  and  sealed  his  mission  with  his  blood. 
His  comrades  fled  down  the  river,  and  after  many  a  danger,  reached  Tampico 
to  announce  his  martyr  triumph.  Of  Brother  John  of  the  Cross,  and  his 
mission  at  Pecos,  no  tidings  were  ever  obtained. 

The  territory  east  of  tiie  Rio  Grande  had  meanwhile  been  the  scene  of 
an  expedition  which,  in  its  pomp  and  power,  i(s  cruelties  and  its  misfortunes, 
has  few  parallels  in  our  annals.  Like  Coronado,  the  illustrious  Hernando  de 
Soto  sought  the  mighty  kingdom  of  the  interior  which  previous  adventurers 
had  reported.  After  serving  in  Peru  with  Pizarro  he  was  appointed  by 
Charles  V  as  governor  of  both  Cuba  and  Florida.  A  well-equipped  arma- 
'  mcnt  stood  across  the  Atlanl'c,  touched  at  Cuba,  and  in  May,  1539,  De  Soto 
landed  at  Tampa  Bay,  Florida,  with  six  hundred  and  twenty  chosen  men,  a 
band  as  gallant  and  well  appointed,  as  eager  in  pursuit  and  audacious  in  hope, 
as  ever  trod  the  shores  of  the  New  World.  The  clangor  of  trumpets,  the 
neighing  of  horses,  the  fluttering  of  pennons,  the  glittering  of  helmet  and 
lance,  startled  the  ancient  forest  with  unwonted  greeting. 

Amid  this  pomp  of  chivalry,  religion  was  not  forgotten.  The  sacred 
vessels  and  vestments,  with  bread  and  wine  for  the  Eucharist,  were  carefully 
provided;  and  De  Soto  himself  declared  that  the  enterprise  was  undertaken 
for  God  alone,  and  seemed  to  be  the  object  of  his  especial  care.  The  conver- 
sion of  the  savages  was  considered  a  matter  of  the  first  importance,  and 
twelve  priests  accompanied  the  expedition. 

The  governor  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  Emperor 
Charles  V.  It  is  said  he  dreamed  of  nothmg  but  success,  and,  moved  by  the  ex- 
ample of  Cortes,  sent  most  of  his  ships  back  to  Havana.  The  savages  did  not 
like  the  new-comers,  and  gave  vent  to  their  wrath  in  hideous  yells  and  showers 
of  arrows.  But  a  well-directed  charge  of  the  cavalry  gave  fleetness  to  the 
heels  of  the   noisy  warriors.     The  loss  of  a  fine  charger,  however,  warned 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  I3I 

the  Spaniards  that  the  Indian  arrow  was  no  mean  weapon.  The  fatal  shaft 
had  flown  with  such  force  as  to  pass  through  the  saddle  and  bury  itself  be- 
tween the  ribs  of  the  horse. 

The  work  of  exploration  began,  but  from  the  outset  it  was  a  toilsome  and 
perilous  enterprise.  It  was  destined  to  be  eventful,  however,  for  it  was  to 
lead  the  brave  De  Soto  to  the  discovery  of  the  River  Mississippi,  "Father  of 
Waters,"  the  longest  river  on  the  North  American  continent  and  deemed  un- 
til recent  days  the  longest  in  the  world.  Of  the  beauty  and  the  present  im- 
portance of  this  noble  stream  we  may  say  with  Capt.  Glazier,  the  gallant  dis- 
coverer of  its  source  in  the  Northwest:  "Can  another  such  river  be  found 
between  the  poles,  which  thus  communicates  with  every  sea;  which  combines 
so  mucli  of  tjic  wonderful  with  so  much  of  the  useful:  which  bears  upon  its 
bosom  the  freightage  of  both  the  old  world  and  the  new,  and  to  which  the 
future  presents  such  a  promising  outlook?  Tlie  Amazon  and  the  Nile  surpass 
the  Mississippi  in  length  and  possibly  in  the  volume  of  their  waters.  But 
apart  from,  and  altogether  beyond  a  consideration  of,  the  length  and  width 
and  depth  of  these  great  rivers  of  the  world,  we  may  consistently  claim  for  the 
Mississippi  a  very  decided  superiority  over  its  longer  rivals,  inasmuch  as, 
throughout  its  entire  length,  its  banks  are  peopled  by  freemen  and  industry 
meets  with  no  restriction.  Often  have  I  observed  that  it  is  perhaps  the  first 
river  in  the  world  and  now  in  parting  from  it  I  affivm  without  hesitation  that 
it  is  incontestably  entitled  to  the  proud  designation  given  it  by  the  Chippewa 
Indians,  of  Mee-see-scc-bc,  "the  Father  of  Running  Waters." 

But  at  first  De  Soto's  little  army  pushed  patiently  along  towards  the 
north.  The  line  of  march  lay  through  a  trackless  wilderness  covered  by 
dense  forests,  and  intersected  by  nniddy  rivers  and  vast  swamps.  On  every 
side  the  savages  proved  hostile.  The  Spaniards  were  obliged  to  fight  and 
push  on  while  burdened  with  a  large  stock  of  provisions  and  ammunition. 
A  cannon  was  hauled  through  treacherous  bogs  and  tangled  imderwood  with 
inunense  labor,  and  the  care  of  scores  of  headstrong  pigs  must  have  added 
enormously  to  the  difficulties  of  the  dangerous  journey. 

When  Sunday  or  some  festival  came,  a  halt  was  ordered.  A  temporary 
altar  was  erected,  perhaps  beneath  some  lordly  tree  which  towered  to  the  skies, 
like  the  steeple  of  a  Gothic  cathedral.  Mass  was  celebrated,  and  the  gallant 
De  Soto  and  his  cavaliers  devoutly  knelt  on  the  grass  around.  Every  religious 
practice  was  observed,  and  as  the  little  army  cut  its  way  through  the  wil- 
derness of  Florida,  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church  were  duly  performed. 


132  TRIALS  A\D  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

The  governor  used  every  effort  to  gain  the  friendship  of  the  Indians. 
He  assured  them  that  his  mission  was  peaceful,  and  that  all  he  desired  was  a 
passage  through  their  territories.  But  in  vain  were  his  assurances.  Full  of 
hatred  and  suspicion,  the  dusky  warriors  would  lie  in  ambush,  discharge  a 
volley  of  arrows,  and  then  fly  to  the  thickets  of  the  woods.  Thus  the  army 
was  ever  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  lurking  savages,  and  unceasing  vigilance 
was  necessary.  The  moment  a  Spaniard  strayed  from  the  camp,  he  was 
likely  to  be  shot  down  and  instantly  scalped. 

Ever  skirmishing,  and  always  on  the  march.,  De  Soto  held  on  his  course 
towards  the  north  of  Florida.  At  one  point  an  immense  morass  stopped  his 
progress.  It  was  surrounded  by  a  thick  forest  of  lofty  trees  and  tangled 
underwood,  and  all  points  were  guarded  by  hostile  Indians.  Bridges  of  trees, 
made  with  great  labor,  enabled  the  way-worn  Spaniards  to  cross  such 
portions  as  came  above  their  middle.  But  every  inch  of  this  muddy  route 
had  to  be  won  at  the  point  of  the  sword;  and  it  was  only  after  a  dreadful 
conflict  of  four  days,  in  which  all  fought  and  many  fell,  that  the  troops  found 
themselves  safely  across  the  great  swamp. 

After  months  of  such  toilsome  marching,  the  cold  weather  came  on. 
A  halt  was  ordered  at  an  Indian  village  called  Apalachee,  which  stood  on 
the  site  of  Tallahassee,  the  present  capital  of  Florida.  And  there,  "  in  the 
midst  of  the  wilderness,  this  band  of  adventurous  Spaniards  passed  the  winter 
together."  The  natives  of  this  region  proved  to  be  large,  fierce  warriors ; 
and  in  spite  of  the  strict  discipline  of  the  camp,  many  a  careless  cavalier  lost 
his  life  and  scalp  at  the  hands  of  prowling  war-parties. 

De  Soto  left  his  winter  quarters  in  March,  1540,  and  proceeded  towards 
the  north,  earnestly  bent  on  finding  a  rich  region — some  imaginary  Peru  or 
Mexico.  "  For  month  after  month,  and  year  after  year,"  writes  Parkman, 
"  the  procession  of  priests  and  cavaliers,  cross-bowmen,  arquebusiers,  and 
Indian  captives  laden  with  the  baggage,  still  wandered  on  through  wild  antl 
boundless  wastes,  lured  hither  and  thither  by  the  ig)iis-fatuiis  of  their  hopes." 

They  traversed  great  portions  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi, 
everywhere  inflicting  and  enduring  misery,  but  never  approaching  their 
phantom  El  Dorado.  At  length,  in  the  third  year  of  their  journeying,  they 
reached  the  banks  of  the  Mississijjpi,  a  hundred  and  thirty-two  years  before 
its  second  discovery  by  Marquette.  One  of  their  number  describes  the  great 
river  as  almost  half  a  league  wide,  deep,  rapid,  and  constantly  rolling  down 
trees  and  driftwood  on  its  turbid  current. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  133 

The  Spaniards  crossed  over  at  a  point  above  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas. 
They  advanced  westward,  but  found  no  treasures — nothing,  indeed,  but  hard- 
ships and  an  Indian  enemy — "Furious,"  writes  one  of  their  officers,  "  as  mad 
dogs."  They  heard  of  a  country  towards  the  north  where  maize  could  not 
be  cultivated  because  the  vast  herds  of  wild  cattle  devoured  it. 

They  penetrated  so  far  that  they  entered  the  range  of  the  roving  prairie- 
tribes;  for,  one  day,  as  they  pushed  their  way  with  difficulty  across  great 
plains  covered  with  tall,  rank  grass,  they  met  a  band  of  savages  who  dwelt 
in  lodges  of  skin  sewed  together,  subsisting  on  game  alone,  and  wandering 
perpetually  from  place  to  place.  Finding  neither  gold  nor  the  South  Sea,  for 
both  of  which  they  had  hoped,  they  returned  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi. 

A  short  time  before  this,  an  interesting  religious  ceremony  occurred. 
The  army  halted  at  an  Indian  village,  and  the  chief  with  a  band  of  picked 
warriors  came  forth.  "  Seiior,"  said  he  to  De  Soto,  *'  as  you  are  superior  to 
us  in  prowess  and  surpass  us  in  arms,  we  likewise  believe  that  your  God  is 
better  than  our  god.  These  you  behold  before  you  are  the  chief  warriors  of 
my  dominions.  We  implore  you  to  pray  to  your  God  to  send  us  rain,  for  our 
fields  are  parched  for  want  of  water." 

De  Soto  replied  that  he  and  all  his  followers  were  sinners,  but  they 
would  supplicate  the  God  of  mercy.  A  large  pine  cross  was  made,  and 
raised  on  a  high  hill.  The  whole  army  formed  in  line,  and  marched  in 
solemn  procession  towards  the  sacred  emblem  of  man's  salvation.  The  priests 
walked  before,  chanting  the  Litany  of  the  Saints,  while  the  soldiers  responded. 
The  chief  took  his  place  beside  the  governor,  and  thousands  of  Indians 
crowded  around.  Prayers  were  offered  up  at  the  cross,  and  the  imposing  cere- 
mony closed  with  the  lofty  strains  of  the  Te  Dcutn.  Rain  fell  the  next  night, 
to  the  great  joy  of  the  Indians. 

Three  years  of  unceasing  toil,  hardship,  and  disappointment  now  began 
to  tell  on  the  rugged  frame  and  lofty  spirit  of  De  Soto.  Assailed  by  fresh 
disasters,  he  was  touched  to  the  heart  at  the  suffering  of  his  diminished  but 
faithful  followers.  A  raging  fever  seized  him,  and  his  days  drew  rapidly  to 
a  close.  But  he  met  death  like  a  fearless  Catholic  soldier.  He  made  his  will, 
bade  an  affectionate  adieu  to  his  officers  and  men,  and  having  made  a  last 
humble  confession,  his  soul  calmly  passed  away,  amid  the  tears  of  the  whole 
army,  on  the  21st  of  May,  1542. 

"And  thus  died  Hernando  de  Soto,"  writes  the  historian  of  early 
Florida — "  o'^e  of  the   boldest  and   bravest  of  the  many  brave  leaders  who 


134  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

figured  in  the  first  discoveries,  and  distinguished  themselves  in  the  wild  war- 
fare of  the  Western  World.  How  proud  and  promising  had  been  the  com- 
mencement of  his  career — how  humble  and  helpless  its  close!  Cut  off  in  the 
vigor  and  manhood  of  his  days,  he  was  but  forty-two  years  old  when  he 
expired."     He  was  a  true  knight,  "without  fear  and  without  reproach." 

As  the  hostile  savages  might  dishonor  the  body  of  the  governor,  if  buried 
on  land,  his  officers  formed  a  new  design.  An  immense  oak  was  cut  down. 
A  space  large  enough  for  the  body  was  scooped  out  of  the  trunk,  and  planks 
nailed  over  the  opening.  This  was  De  Soto's  coffin.  At  the  dead  of  night, 
in  the  midst  of  silence,  a  few  boats  were  rowed  to  the  centre  of  the  river,  and 
slowly  and  sadly  the  rude  coffin  was  lowered  to  its  strange  resting-place.  As 
it  sank,  the  sorrowing  stream  took  the  precious  remains  in  pity  to  its  breast. 
The  discoverer  of  the  great  river  slept  beneath  its  waters.  His  successor, 
Muscoso,  after  trying  in  vain  to  reach  Mexico  by  land,  fled  down  the  river, 
hotly  pursued  by  the  natives.  A  small  party  reached  Tampico,  but  every 
clergyman  had  perished,  and  no  mention  is  made  of  any  attempt  to  found  a 
mission. 

Another  attempt  to  christianize  the  Indians  of  Florida  was  made  by  a 
Dominican,  Father  Louis  Cancer.  He  was  a  native  of  Saragossa,  Spain,  and 
began  his  labors  in  America  as  a  missionary  in  Mexico.  While  there  he 
heard  much  of  the  fierce  tribes  of  Florida,  and  ardently  desired  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  them.  Proceeding  to  Spain  he  obtained  the  grant  of  a  vessel  from 
the  King  for  his  pious  mission.  In  this  he  embarked  from  Mexico  for  Tampa 
Bay,  with  two  associates,  Fathers  Beteta  and  Garcia;  and  one  otlier,  Father 
Diego  de  Peiialosa,  who  had  joined  them.  The  vessel  missed  the  intended 
port,  but  reached  the  coast  of  Florida  in  about  the  twenty-ninth  degree  of 
latitude  on  the  eve  of  Ascension  Day.  After  seeking  the  port  for  some  days 
and  landing  from  time  to  time.  Father  Diego  went  ashore,  followed  by  Can- 
cer, an  interpreter,  and  one  other,  in  order  to  confer  with  the  Indians.  Amid 
the  dusky  children  of  the  everglades  they  knelt  and  commended  the  enterprise 
to  God,  then  rose  and  began  their  intercourse  with  the  natives.  Presents 
soon  won  esteem  and  friendship,  and  as  the  long-sought  harbor  was  now 
ascertained  to  be  only  a  day's  sail  distant,  it  was  agreed  that  Father  Diego, 
with  a  Spaniard,  and  the  Indian  woman  who  had  acted  as  interpreter,  should 
remain  on  shore,  while  the  rest  proceeded  to  the  port  by  sea. 

So  slowly,  however,  did  their  vessel  move  that  they  did  not  reach  the 
desired  haven  till  the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi.     Here,  too,  friendly  relations 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  135 

were  opened  with  the  natives  by  Father  Cancer;  and  the  interpreter  arrived, 
announcing  that  Father  Diego  was  at  the  cacique's  hut.  On  his  returning  to 
tlie  vessel  Cancer  found  all  thrown  into  perplexity  by  the  arrival  of  a  Spaniard 
who  escaped  from  among  the  Indians.  He  warned  the  missionaries  to  be- 
ware of  the  Indians,  and  to  their  aniazenieiit  declared  that  Father  Diego 
and  his  companions  had  been  already  butchered  by  the  savages,  witii  all  kinds 
uf  ceremony  and  addresses.  "All  this  was  indeed  terrible,"  says  Cancer,  "and 
A'ery  aftlicting  to  us,  but  not  surprising;  such  things  cannot  but  happen  in 
enterprises  for  the  extension  of  the  faith.  I  expected  nothing  less.  How 
often  have  I  reflected  on  the  execution  of  this  enterprise,  and  felt  that  we 
could  not  succeed  in  it  without  losing  much  blood.  So  the  Apostles  did, 
and  at  this  price  alone  can  faith  and  religion  be  introduced." 

This  intrepid  priest  was  a  native  of  Saragossa,  and  had  at  an  early  age 
entered  the  Dominican  order.  He  came  to  America  in  1514  as  Superior  of 
a  band  of  missionaries.  His  labors  were  at  first  almost  unsuccessful;  his 
companions  died  around  him  of  want,  disease,  and  violence,  and  at  the  expira- 
tion of  nearly  thirty  years  he  stood  alone.  He  then,  with  Father  Rincon  and 
Las  Casas,  undertook  to  evangelize  the  district  called  Tierra  de  Guerra,  Land 
of  War,  but  having  converted  and  gained  all  (Ik-  native  tribes,  the  missionaries 
gave  it  the  name  of  Vera  Paz,  "True  Peace,"  which  it  still  bears. 

Many  were  now  in  favor  of  abandoning  the  project,  but  Cancer  resolved 
to  remain  alone,  if  necessary,  hoping  by  mildness  and  presents  to  win  the 
favor  of  the  Indians.  On  the  2  Ith  of  June  he  remained  on  board  to  draw 
up  an  account,  which  is  still  extant,  and  to  prepare  what  he  deemed  necessary 
for  his  new  mission.  Storms  for  a  day  prevented  his  landing,  but  on  the  26th 
he  (juiltctl  the  vessel,  accompanied  by  Fathers  Garcia  and  TSeteta,  and  when 
near  the  shore  sprang  out,  and,  not  heeding  their  entreaties  and  remon- 
strances, proceeded  up  the  steep  bank.  The  Indians  looked  on,  but  gave  no 
sign  of  welcome.  Then,  doubtless.  Cancer  realized  all  his  danger;  he  knelt 
for  a  moment  in  prayer,  but  an  Indian  approached,  and,  seizing  him  by  the 
arm  led  him  off.  A  crowd  soon  gathered  around,  his  hat  was  torn  off,  and  a 
hcavv  blow  of  a  club  stretched  him  lifeless  on  the  shore.  He  uttered  one  cry, 
"Oh!  my  God!"  for  in  an  instant  the  savages  had  covered  him  with  mortal 
wounds,  and  rushing  to  the  water's  edge  drove  back  the  rest  with  a  shower  of 
arrows.  Sa<lly  the  .surviving  missionaries  drew  off,  and  as  they  beheld  the 
bleeding  scalp  of  their  beloved  brother  IkI.1  aloft,  lamented  that  his  glorious 
plan,   crowned   with   success   in   \'era    Paz,   had    failed   in    Florida.     Cooler 


136  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

minds  may  treat  as  madness  the  conduct  of  Cancer,  but  in  the  whole  history  of 
our  missions  there  is  not  a  nobler  episode  than  the  attempt  of  this  true  Domini- 
can, willing  to  shed  no  blood  but  his  own  in  winning  sinners  from  error,  and 
seeking  in  an  unarmed  vessel,  and  with  an  unarmed  company,  to  achieve  the 
peaceful  conquest  of  land  already  deluged  in  blood. 

The  next  missionaries  in  Florida  were  a  number  of  Dominicans  thrown 
on  the  coast  by  shipwreck  in  1553.  A  large  vessel  carrying  no  less  than  a 
thousand  souls,  sailed  from  Vera  Cruz,-  and  after  leaving  Havana  was  driven 
on  the  shore  of  Florida.  Seven  hundred  perished;  three  hundred  reached 
the  hostile  coast;  among  them,  five  Dominicans,  Fathers  Diego  de  la  Cruz, 
Ferdinand  Mendez,  and  John  Ferrer,  with  two  lay -brothers,  John  and  Mark 
de  Mena.  The  survivors  had  an  able  and  energetic  commander,  who  saved 
a  cannon  with  ammunition,  and  immediately  began  his  march  for  Tampico, 
then  the  frontier  town  of  Mexico.  His  way  lay  through  hostile  tribes,  but  as 
long  as  he  retained  his  cannon  he  kept  them  at  bay;  at  last,  however,  he 
unfortunately  lost  it  and  much  of  his  ammunition  by  the  upsetting  of  a  raft 
while  crossing  a  rapid  river.  From  that  time  their  numbers  were  rapidly 
thinned.  When  they  reached  the  Del  Norte,  the  prior.  Father  Diego,  had 
died  of  his  wounds,  Father  Ferdinand  of  hardship.  Brother  John  de  Mena 
had  been  shot  through  the  body,  and  Brother  Mark,  pierced  by  seven  arrows, 
had  been  left  for  dead.  Father  John  Ferrer  had  disappeared,  having  been 
taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians.  To  this  religious,  a  man  of  eminent  pietj-  and 
sanctity,  common  report  had  long  attributed  prophetic  power.  Before  they 
sailed  from  Mexico  he  had  said:  "Almost  all  of  us  will  die, and  I  shall  remain 
hidden  in  distant  parts,  where  I  shall  live  for  several  years  in  complete  health." 
This  now  occurred  to  all,  and  as  his  prediction  of  the  fearful  loss  had  been 
realized,  it  was  generally  believed  that  he  remained  some  years  among  the 
Indians,  where  he  doubtless  lost  no  occasion  of  instilling  into  their  minds  the 
truths  of  Christianity;  but  no  tidings  of  him  ever  reached  the  Spanish  colony. 
Strange,  too,  was  the  fate  of  Brother  Mark  de  Mena.  He  had,  we  have 
seen,  been  left  for  dead ;  but  recovering  from  the  loss  of  blood,  he  drew  out 
the  arrows,  and  dressing  his  wounds  as  well  as  he  could,  pursued,  and  at  last 
overtook  the  fugitives.  The  exertion  was,  however,  too  great;  he  soon  sank, 
and  his  companions,  unable  to  carry  him,  buried  him  to  the  neck  in  the  sand 
and  continued  their  flight,  but  soon  after  were  all  cut  to  pieces.  Brother 
Mark,  meanwhile,  had  rallied  again;  he  rose  from  his  grave,  and  at  last,  with 
vvounds  corrupted  and  swarming  with  worms,  reached  Tampico,  sole  Swir'^ivot 


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CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  1 37 

of  tlie  luuribers  who  crowded  the  deck  of  the  noble  vessel  that  had  left  San 
Juan  de  Ulua  so  short  a  time  before,  radiant  with  hope. 

This  severe  loss  induced  the  government  to  think  seriously  of  subduing 
and  colonizing  the  northern  shore  of  the  Mexican  gulf,  and  in  1559,  Don 
Tristan  de  Luna  was  sent  with  1500  men  in  thirteen  vessels  to  accomplish  it. 
As  usual,  missionaries  attended  the  expedition.  This  time,  too,  they  were 
Dominicans,  Father  Pedro  de  Feria  being  vicar-provincial.  The  others  were 
Father  Domingo  de  la  Annunciation,  Father  Dominic  de  Salazar,  who  died 
first  bishop  of  Manilla  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  Father  John  Mazuehis, 
Father  Dominic  of  St.  Dominic,  and  Father  Bartholomew  Matheos,  once 
commander  of  the  artillery  under  Pizarro,  and  a  close  prisoner  in  the  subse- 
quent troubles,  who,  escaping,  turned  his  back  on  an  ungrateful  world,  and 
entering  a  convent  became  a  fervent  religious.  As  Don  Tristan's  fleet 
approached  the  fated  shore  a  storm  arose  by  which  the  vessels  were  driven  on 
the  shoals,  and  many  were  lost.  Among  those  who  perished  in  the  ship- 
wreck was  Father  Bartholomew.  The  survivors  landed,  and  Tristan,  collect- 
ing what  had  escaped,  sent  back  a  vessel  for  aid,  and  with  a  stout  heart 
resolved  to  begin  his  colony.  His  troops  revolted,  and  he  himself  hearing 
flattering  accounts  of  Coosa,  a  kingdom  in  the  interior,  marched  to  the  country 
of  the  Creeks,  attended  by  Father  Dominic  of  the  Annunciation  and  Father 
Salazar.  The  Creeks  received  the  new-comers  as  friends,  and  an  alliance 
was  soon  formed.  To  aid  his  new  allies,  the  Spanish  commander  marched 
westward  to  attack  the  Natchez  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  The  mis- 
sionaries accompanied  him,  and  on  his  return  to  Coosa  labored  earnestly  to 
convert  the  friendly  Creeks,  but  their  efforts  were  not  crowned  with  success, 
and  only  a  few  baptisms  of  dying  infants  and  adults  rewarded  their  zeal. 

Meanwhile  the  other  missionaries  who  had  been  left  at  the  coast  returned 
to  Mexico  to  urge  expeditious  relief.  The  remainder  of  the  party  at  the  coast 
IukI  become  divideil  into  factions,  and  these  increased  after  the  commander's 
return, as  he  on  his  part  showed  astern  unbending  spirit;  but  the  missionaries, 
true  to  their  calling,  restored  peace,  by  a  touching  appeal  to  the  faith  and 
religious  feeling  of  Don  Tristan  on  Palm  Sunday  in  1561.  Two  days  after 
the  reconciliation  the  long  expected  relief  arrived,  with  the  new  governor  of 
Florida  and  three  new  missionaries.  Father  John  de  Contrcras,  the  lay- 
brother,  Matthew  of  the  Mother  of  God,  and  Father  Gregory  de  Beteta,  the 
companion  of  Cancer,  who,  after  having  renounced  the  sqe  of  Carthagcna, 
was  hastening  to  Spain,  when  he  heard  of  the  Florida  expedition,  and  at  once 


138  mi.! IS  ASD  TRll'MPHS  OF  THE 

joined  it  to  labor  in  the  field  of  his  early  choice.  But  when  the  new  governor 
beheld  how  little  had  been  done,  he  resolved  to  abandon  Florida,  to  the  great 
joy  of  those  who  had  long  urged  Tristan  to  adopt  that  course.  Angel, 
accordingly,  soon  set  sail,  taking  with  him  most  of  the  Spaniards  and  several 
of  the  missionaries,  who,  disheartened  by  their  fruitless  labors  among  the 
Creeks,  despaired  of  success.  Don  Tristan,  unbroken  by  disaster,  remained 
with  a  few  resolute  men,  and  the  intrepid  Father  Salazar  and  Brother  Mat- 
thew, who  both  resolved  to  labor  on.  Tristan  wrote  a  pressing  letter  to  the 
viceroy  to  urge  him  to  proceed  with  the  projected  settlement,  but  the  reports 
spread  by  the  disaffected  members  of  the  expedition  were  sucii  that  a  vessel 
was  sent  back  with  positive  orders  for  Don  Tristan  to  return.  To  this  com- 
mand he  yielded,  and  the  colony  and  mission  of  Santa  Cruz  in  Pensacola  Bay 
were  abandoned. 

The  motive  which  impelled  the  attempt  made  by  Don  Tristan  de  Luna 
soon  induced  a  more  successful  one,  which  resulted  in  the  settlement  of  St. 
Augustine.  Vessel  after  vessel  was  lost  on  the  coast  or  among  the  dangerous 
keys  of  Florida,  and  in  1561,3  storm  scattered  the  great  India  fleet  which 
bore  from  Mexico  the  treasures  that  colony  annually  poured  into  the  lap  of 
Spain.  One  of  the  vessels  disappeared — whether  driven  on  the  coa-t  or 
swallowed  up  in  the  ocean,  none  could  tell.  In  it  were  lost  the  only  son  and 
many  a  relative  and  retainer  of  the  brave  and  energetic  Pedro  Melendez,  the 
first  naval  commander  of  his  day.  Long  had  his  banner  floated  on  the 
Mediterranean,  the  Atlantic,  and  the  North  Sea,  anil  well  had  he  ser\ed,  at 
his  own  expense,  his  royal  master  against  the  corsairs  and  the  French ;  but 
like  Columbus,  when  his  broken  health  and  resources  entitled  him  to  a  rich 
reward,  his  cup  of  misfortune  was  filled  to  the  brim.  Unable  to  wait  and 
search  for  his  son,  he  proceeded  on  his  voyage,  intending  to  fit  out  an  expedi- 
tion for  that  purpose  as  soon  as  he  arrived  in  Spain;  Init  on  reaching  Seville, 
he  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  on  a  frivolous  charge,  made  by  some  officers, 
who  little  brooked  the  strict  discipline  of  the  old  admiral.  In  that  hour  all 
turned  against  him.  Bail  was  refused,  his  services  and  paternal  feelings  were 
alike  forgotten,  and  ever}'  delay  was  made  in  the  process  against  him.  For 
nearly  two  years  he  lingered  in  prison.  He  then  sought  the  presence  of 
Philip  II.,  who  had  known  him  long  and  well.  As  a  sole  reward  for  his 
past  services,  he  asked  permission  to  sail  in  search  of  his  son;  thence  to  return 
to  his  castle,  and  spend  his  remaining  years  in  the  service  of  God.  Hope 
never  forsook   him:   he   believed  his  son  to  be  among  the   Indians,  or  in   the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


«39 


hands  of  French  pirates;  and,  if  alive,  he  despaired  not  of  rescuing  the  hope 
of  his  old  Asturian  house.  Philip  favored  his  request,  and  offeied  him  a 
grant  of  Florida,  with  the  title  of  adelantado,  but  on  very  onerous  conditions. 
These  Melendez  accepted,  and  employed  the  remnant  of  his  property  to  fit 
out  an  expedition.  By  the  charter  which  he  received,  he  was  to  take  out 
twelve  friars  and  four  Jesuits,  as  missionaries  for  Florida. 

While  the  adelantado  was  preparing  for  the  expedition,  news  arrived 
that  a  French  post  was  actually  formed  on  the  coast  of  Florida;  this  gave  a 
new  character  to  the  whole  affair,  and  the  first  object  now  was  to  destroy 
that  settlement.  To  attain  this  object  he  increased  his  forces,  and  sailed  from 
Cadiz,  in  June,  1565.  After  a  stormy  passage  that  scattered  his  fleet,  he 
touched  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John's  River,  in  Florida.  Near  by  lay  Fort 
Caroline  and  the  little  French  settlement. 

The  Spanish  admiral  gave  unsuccessful  chase  to  a  number  of  French 
ships  in  the  vicinity,  and  then  sailed  towards  the  south  along  the  coast.  He 
entered  a  small  inlet,  and  threw  up  a  rude  fort.  It  was  the  foundation  of  St. 
Augustine — to-day  the  oldest  town  in  this  Republic. 

Then  follows  the  woeful  tale  of  blood  and  butchery.  Melendez 
"  marched  against  Fort  Caroline,  took  it  by  surprise,  and  put  the  garrison  to 
the  sword,  only  Laudonni^re  and  a  few  of  his  followers  escaping.  Ribault 
and  most  of  his  men  afterwards  surrendered,  and  were  massacred  in  cold 
blood ;  a  remnant  of  the  Frenchmen  were  captured  and  sent  to  the  galleys." 

"  It  was  he,"  says  Parkman,  "  who  crushed  French  Protestantism  in 
America." 

For  years  St.  Augustine  remaincil  the  only  European  settlement  within 
the  present  lin.its  of  the  United  States.  It  was  the  headquarters  of  mission- 
ary effort.  The  Franciscans,  Dominicans,  and  Jesuits  toiled  like  apostles 
among  the  wild,  dusky  children  of  the  everglades.  Many  watered  the  soil  of 
Florida  with  their  blooil.     Not  a  few  were  scalped  and  eaten  by  the  savages. 

The  priests  who  had  been  chosen  to  accompany  the  expedition  of 
Melentlez,  though  all  did  not  sail  or  arrive  in  Florida,  were  eleven  Francis- 
cans, one  Father  of  the  order  of  Mercy,  a  secular  priest,  and  eight  Jesuits. 
The  superior  of  the  latter  was  Father  Peter  Martinez,  a  native  of  Feruel,  in 
the  north  of  Spain.  Owing  to  an  unexpected  delay,  however,  these  fathers 
did  not  sail  with  the  admiral,  but  took  passage,  several  months  later,  in  another 
expedition.  Hefore  departing,  Father  Martinez  addressed  a  long  letter  to  the 
celebrated  St.  Francis  Uurgia,  then  general  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 


140  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

"By  the  mercy  of  God,"  he  writes,"!  undertake  this  voyage  with 
courage,  and  with  entire  confidence  in  His  grace,  having  often  devoted  my 
Hfe  and  my  blood  to  His  service  in  the  mission  which  obedience  assigns  me. 
Rest  assured,  dear  father,  that  we  shall  employ  all  our  strength,  with  the 
assistance  of  divine  grace,  in  bringing  those  provinces  to  the  knowledge  of 
their  Creator  and  Redeemer — that  the  souls  redeemed  by  the  precious  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ  may  not  perish  forever.     .     .     . 

"Gladly,  indeed,  would  we  have  received  the  benediction  of  our  most 
Holy  Father  Pius  V.,  humbly  prostrate  at  his  feet.  But  as  this  was  not  in 
our  power,  we  were  sufliciently  consoled  by  the  letter  which  informed  us 
that  he  wished  us  well,  and,  though  absent,  conferred  upon  us  especial  favors; 
and  your  paternity  can  assure  him,  in  our  name,  that  besides  myself — who  am 
bound  to  him  by  the  vow  of  my  profession — faithful  sons  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Church  are  about  to  part  for  the  acquisition  of  a  new  flock,  for  which  end 
they  are  ready,  with  the  aid  of  divine  grace,  to  shed  their  blood;  and  they 
will  account  it  a  very  great  favor  of  God  to  lay  down  their  lives  for  the 
spiritual  advancement  of  those  whom  they  may  gain  to  Christ." 

When  the  vessel  in  which  the  fathers  sailed  approached  the  coast  of 
Florida,  it  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  squadron,  taking  a  northern  direc- 
tion. The  captain  on  Hearing  the  shore  desired  a  few  men  to  land  in  a  yawl, 
and  explore  the  country.  All  refused  to  hazard  their  lives  among  the  fierce 
savages.  Finally  about  a  dozen  Belgians  and  Spaniards  offered  to  comply,  in 
case  Father  Martinez  was  allowed  to  accompany  them.  He  was  informed  of 
this.  The  fearless  priest,  moved  by  charity,  was  the  first  to  leap  into  the  boat. 
The  exploring  party  landed,  but  had  scarcely  done  so,  when  a  sudden  storm 
arose,  driving  the  ship  which  they  had  left  far  from  the  shore. 

The  position  of  the  castaways  was  extremely  perilous.  Far  and  wide 
nothing  met  their  gaze  but  a  dreary  wilderness — on  one  side  the  rough  and 
threatening  ocean,  on  the  other  vast  and  unknown  solitudes!  On  this  savage 
coast  they  waited  ten  days,  thinking  that  perhaps  some  other  vessel  might 
present  itself.  "Occasionally  they  wandered  about,"  says  Tanner,  "to  gather 
a  few  herbs.  Father  Martinez  at  their  head,  bearing  the  image  of  Christ 
crucified,  and,  as  some  of  his  companions  afterwards  related,  performing 
prodigies  of  charity." 

Would  space  permit,  pages  might  be  filled  with  the  adventures  of  the 
brave  Jesuit  and  his  sorely  tried  companions  in  their  efforts  to  reach  a  Spanish 
settlement.     At  one  of  the  rivers  which  they  crossed  the  kindness  of  Fathei 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  I4I 

Martinez  in  waiting  for  two  tardy  Belgians  caused  his  own  death.  Rushing 
to  the  boat,  a  troop  of  hostile  savages  seized  the  heroic  priest,  forced  him  on 
shore  and  began  their  murderous  work.  With  hands  uplifted  to  Heaven,  he 
received  the  repeated  blows  of  a  heavy  club  until  life  was  extinct!  His  death 
occurred  on  the  2Sth  of  September,  1566,  within  about  three  leagues  of  the 
mouth  of  the  St. John's  River.  And  thus  the  good  and  fearless  Father  Peter 
Martinez,  the  first  Jesuit  who  stepped  on  the  soil  of  America,  baptized  it  with 
his  martyr-blood.  As  we  shall  see  later  on,  he  but  headed  a  long  roll  from 
his  illustrious  order  who  freely  gave  up  their  lives  to  establish  the  faith 
iu  America. 


Cbaptcit  VIII. 


In  The  Land  of  Floiocps. 


JESUITS  Obtain  A  Province.— Working  Beyond  State  Lines.— a  Superior 
Ci,ASS  OF  Natives. — The  Founding  of  a  Jesuit  Reduction. — Another  Band 
OF  Franciscans. — Attacks  on  Many  Missionaries.— A  Mass  and  Then  a 
Crown.— Long  Concealment  in  a  tree. — The  British  Game  of  Grab. — 
Missions  in  New  Mexico  and  Texas. 


^HE  death  of  Father  Peter  Martinez,  S.  J.,  was  a  severe  hlow  to 
the  toilsome  and  dangerous  Florida  mission,  not  only  from  the  fact 
of  his  being  the  superior,  but  also  as  his  abilities  were  of  a  rare, 
order,  and  his  zeal  and  virtues  the  theme  of  general  admiration 
On  learning  of  his  martyrdom  his  associates,  Father  Roger  and 
Brother  Villareal,  retired  to  Havana,  and  spent  the  winter  in  study- 
ing the  language  of  the  part  of  Florida  near  Cape  Connaveral.  Of  this 
dialect  they  drew  up  vocabularies,  by  the  help  of  the  natives  then  in  Havana, 
whom  they  at  the  same  time  instructed  in  the  faith.  In  February,  they 
crossed  over  to  that  province  and  began  a  mission. 

The  people  among  whom  they  now  labored  being  evidently  a  branch  of 
the  Creeks,  w^ere  far  from  having  made  any  progress  in  the  arts  of  life.  Like 
the  inhabitants  of  the  West  India  Islands,  they  were  entirely  naked,  the 
women  alone  wearing  a  scanty  apron  of  skins  or  grass  —  proof  that  modesty 

142 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  1 43 

is  inherent  in  the  sex.  Their  houses  were  constructed  of  upright  logs,  meet- 
ing at  the  top;  their  beds  were  a  kind  of  raised  platform,  under  which  a  lire 
could  be  made,  to  dispel  the  mosquitoes  by  the  smoke.  Polygamy  was 
universal,  or  rather  marriage  as  a  permanent  state  was  unknown.  Their  arms 
and  utensils  were  of  the  rudest  description,  and  their  wandering  disposition 
and  almost  entire  neglect  of  agriculture,  presented  great  obstacles  to  the 
introduction  of  the  faith.  The  Jesuits,  however,  applied  themselves  earnestly 
to  the  great  work,  and  in  response  to  their  appeals  St.  Francis  Borgia 
formed  Florida  into  a  vice-province  of  the  order.  Father  John  Baptist 
Segura,  of  Toledo,  Spain,  was  selected  as  vice-provincial,  and  with  him  were 
sent  out  two  other  priests  and  several  lay  brothers.  On  arriving  the  vice- 
provincial  held  consultations  with  the  missionaries  already  on  the  ground,  .nnd 
full  of  zeal,  formed  a  plan  of  action.  The  education  of  young  Indians  in 
Christian  principles  was  deemed  the  most  efficacious  means  of  advancing  the 
mission ;  and  Father  Roger  and  Brother  Villareal  being  already  acquainted 
with  the  language,  were  appointed  to  begin  at  Havana  an  Indian  school  for 
Florida  children,  while  the  vice-provincial  and  his  companions  proceeded  to 
Florida  to  make  their  novitiate  in  missionary  life,  and  acquire,  amid  the  hard- 
ships of  an  apostolic  career,  the  rudiments  of  the  language.  They  accortl- 
ingly  took  post  at  various  points  in  the  province  of  Carlos,  in  Tequesta,  still 
farther  north,  and  in  Tocobaga,  which  lay  on  Apalachee  Bay.  Here  they 
labored  for  some  time,  studying  tiie  language  and  manners  of  the  people, 
preaching  by  interpreters,  and  of  course  with  little  success. 

In  1566,  Father  Roger  was  sent  to  St.  Helena,  or  Crista,  as  it  was  then 
called,  antl  after  giving  the  colonists  established  in  that  cradle  of  Carolina  the 
succors  of  religion,  struck  inland  with  three  companions,  to  announce  the 
gospel  to  the  native  tribes.  Here  this  father  met  a  race  far  superior  to  those 
whom  he  had  previously  encountered,  and  who  were,  in  all  probability,  a 
branch  of  the  Clierokees.  Superior  to  the  Creeks  in  many  respects,  they 
were  a  sedate  and  thoughtful  race,  and  dwelling  in  peace  in  their  native 
mountains,  whence  they  defied  their  enemies  at  the  north  and  south,  they  cul- 
tivated their  fields,  and  lived  in  prosperity  and  plenty.  Their  morals  were 
far  superior  to  those  of  the  lowland  races;  polygamy  was  unknown;  and 
men  and  women,  by  their  very  aspect, gave  tokens  of  a  higher  state  of  culture. 

Inspired  with  hopes,  Roger  devoted  himself  to  the  language  of  the  new- 
found tribes  with  such  assiduity,  that  in  six  months  he  had  mastered  its  diffi- 
culties, and  was  able  to  announce  intelligibly  to  his  neophytes  the   mysteries 


144  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

of  our  religion.  While  in  their  amazed  ears  he  proclaimed  doctrines  never 
heard  before,  of  a  single  almighty  Deity,  who  rewarded  and  punished  as  he 
had  created  man,  and  who  reserved  for  them  all  mansions  of  bliss  or  woe, 
which  it  was  theirs  to  choose,  they  listened  with  attention;  and  questions, 
curious,  indeed,  yet  earnest,  showed  that  the  Indian  had  become  interested 
in  the  new  doctrine.  A  very  similar  experience  attends  mission  work  among 
the  Indians  as  recorded  down  to  our  own  day.  They  seem  all  attention  and 
docility  when  they  are  merely  gratifying  a  listless  curiosity,  or  perhaps  even 
whiling  away  time  to  suit  their  own  convenience.  The  fond  hopes  of  the 
missionary  soon  vanished,  however.  The  time  had  come  for  gathering  their 
winter  store  and  all  plunged  into  the  woods,  leaving  their  teacher  bafHed  for 
the  moment,  but  still  courageous.  His  efforts  were  renewed  when  the  tribe 
assembled  again  in  the  following  year,  but  with  equal  want  of  success.  The 
missions  which  had  been  renewed  among  the  Creek  tribes  had  proved  equally 
ineffectual,  and  the  Jesuits  were  about  to  abandon  so  unpromising  a  field.  No 
hope  of  martyrdom,  even,  roused  their  zeal  to  new  efforts;  they  decided  that 
the  mission  was  impracticable,  and  so  announced  it  to  their  superiors  in 
Europe. 

The  Florida  mission  had,  however,  attracted  the  eyes  of  the  Christian 
world.  Not  only  the  illustrious  head  of  their  order,  the  sainted  Borgia  and 
the  Spanish  monarch,  still  urged  the  great  work  of  Christianizing  the  natives 
of  the  colony,  but  the  sovereign  pontiff  himself  addressed  a  brief  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  Florida  to  excite  his  zeal  in  the  case.  In  this  earliest  document  from 
the  Holy  See,  relative  to  the  conversion  of  our  Indian  tribes,  and  their  ad- 
vancement in  civilization,  St.  Pius  V.  lays  down  a  doctrine  now  sanctioned  by 
the  experience  of  three  centuries.  "Nothing,"  says  he,  "is  more  important 
in  the  conversion  of  these  Indians  and  idolaters,  than  to  endeavor  by  all 
means  to  prevent  a  scandal  being  given  by  the  vices  and  immoralities  of  such 
as  go  to  those  western  parts."  Where  this  moral  barrier,  spoken  of  by  the 
holy  pontiff,  was  successfully  raised,  the  Indian  prospered;  where,  as  in  our 
English  colonies,  none  such  existed,  the  tribes  dwindled  away,  contagious 
vices  and  stimulating  drinks  destroying  them  more  silently  or  surely  than 
war  or  aggression. 

Ere  the  letter  of  St.  Pius  reached  Florida,  the  courageous  Father  Roger 
made  one  more  effort  to  plant  a  mission.  He  returned  to  his  post,  but  found 
his  house  and  chapel  destroyed.  In  vain  he  preached  the  word  of  trutli. 
Hopeless  of  obtaining  conviction  directly,  he  adopted  a  new  plan;  by  extolling 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  I45 

the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  a  thorough  and  regular  cultivation  of 
the  ground,  he  induced  the  natives  to  attempt  it,  and  thus  founded  what  was 
termed  a  "Reduction."  Lands  were  chosen;  agricultural  implements  pro- 
cured;  twenty  commodious  houses  raised;  and  the  Indians  had  already  made 
some  progress,  sufficient  to  excite  the  most  favorable  hopes,  when  all  again 
vanished.  Their  natural  fickleness  prevailed;  deaf  to  the  entreaties  and  re- 
monstrances of  Roger,  they  abandoned  their  village  and  returned  to  the  woods. 
Less  anxious  to  gain  proselytes  to  civilization  than  children  to  the  Church,  the 
missionary  followed  them  to  their  forests,  and  continued  to  instruct  all  he  met 
in  the  various  points  of  Christian  doctrine.  After  eight  months'  application, 
he  judged  many  sufficiently  instructed  to  receive  baptism;  and  calling  a  coun- 
cil of  the  chiefs  proppsed  that  the  tribe  should  renounce  the  devil  and  embrace 
the  new  faith. 

A  scene  of  confusion  ensued.  "  The  devil  is  the  best  thing  in  the  world," 
was  the  unanimous  cry  ot  the  leaders.  "  We  adore  him;  he  makes  men  val- 
iant," they  exclaimed;  and  swayed  by  a  few,  the  multitude  resolved  not  to 
renounce  Satan,  and  publicly  rejected  the  faith. 

Father  Roger  then  proceeded  to  other  tribes,  but  as  a  missionary  effected 
nothing.  Returning  to  Orista  he  found  the  Indians  gathered  at  a  great  festi- 
val on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Dulce.  Resolved  to  make  a  final  effort,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  place  of  their  festivity,  and  again  raised  his  voice  among  them. 
Recounting  his  labors  for  their  good,  his  many  acts  of  kindness  and  charity, 
he  bade  them  judge  by  these  of  the  sincerity  of  his  affections  for  them.  In 
return,  he  asked  but  one  favor — their  acceptance  of  the  faith  which  he 
preached,  and  whicli  they  all  acknowledged  to  be  good  and  holy.  This  was 
his  sole  object,  as  it  was  their  good.  If  they  refused  it  he  must  depart  forever. 
Scarcely  had  he  ceased  speaking  when  a  chief  arose,  and  by  a  few  short,  furi- 
ous words,  roused  all  minds  to  madness.  In  the  trouble  which  ensued  the 
missionary  nearly  lost  his  life,  and  with  difficulty  saved  his  church.  Bidding, 
therefore,  farewell  to  his  flock,  whom  he  promised  to  revisit  at  their  first  sign 
of  acquiescence  in  his  wishes,  he  returned  to  the  fort  of  St.  Helena  in  1570> 
and,  reporting  to  the  governor  the  failure  of  his  undertaking,  proceeded  to 
Havana  with  Father  Sedailo  and  some  Indian  boys. 

At  this  moment  arrived  the  letter  of  Pope  St.  Pius  and  those  from  St. 
Francis  Borgia  to  the  Jesuits  in  Florida,  encouraging  them  to  persevere,  and 
sending  to  aid  them  Father  Louis  de  Quiros  and  two  scholastics.  These  were 
intended  to  take  part  in  a  new  mission  already  projected  in  Spain.     The  chief 


146  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

of  Axacan,  who  had  accompanied  the  Dominicans  to  Spain,  asked  leave  to  re- 
turn to  use  his  influence  in  converting  his  tribe.  As  all  now  felt  the  necessity 
of  removing  the  missions  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Spanish  posts,  his  offer  was 
accepted,  and  he  agreed  to  be  the  guide  of  the  missionaries  who  should  be 
sent  to  the  banks  of  the  Chesapeake,  or  St.  Mary's  Bay. 

Father  Segura  was  delighted  at  the  prospect  thus  opened,  and  resolved 
to  undertake  himself  the  new  and  promising  mission.  To  aid  him,  he 
selected,  besides  Father  Quiros,  several  lay  brothers  with  some  Indian  youths, 
who  had  been  educated  in  the  academy  at  Havana.  All  were  soon  at  St. 
Helena,  the  frontier  post  of  the  Spanish  colony,  whence  a  single  vessel  bore 
them  to  St.  Mary's  Bay,  whose  borders,  in  the  names  of  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land, seem  to  chronicle  the  devotion  of  its  first  explorers  to  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary.  The  missionaries  landed  with  Don  Luis,  as  the  chief  was  now  called, 
and  without  a  sigh  beheld  the  vessel  stand  out  to  sea,  leaving  them,  the  only 
Europeans  for  a  thousand  miles  around. 

The  residence  of  the  tribe  to  which  Don  Luis  belonged,  cannot  be 
determined.  It  is  stated  to  have  been  placed  about  thirty-seven  or  thirty- 
seven  and  a  half  degrees  north,  and  to  have  been  far  from  the  sea.  The 
name  is  uniformly  given  as  Axacan. 

This  inland  region  was  now  the  bourne  of  their  journey,  and  they  began 
their  march ;  a  vast  tract  of  marsh  and  wood  lay  before  them,  interspersed 
with  lands  which  had  for  several  years  been  struck  with  the  curse  of  sterility; 
but,  hardened  to  toil,  they  pressed  gallantly  on,  through  many  a  winding  and 
circuitous  route,  till  the  conduct  of  Don  Luis  excited  suspicion.  Months  had 
passed,  and  yet  their  destination  was  not  reached.  At  last  he  announced  that 
his  brother's  village  was  but  twelve  miles  off,  and,  bidding  them  encamp, 
hastened  on  in  advance,  to  prepare  his  countrymen  for  their  new  guests. 
Days  now  elapsed,  as  months  had  done,  in  suspense,  and  yet  no  tidings  came 
of  Don  Luis.  Meanwhile  hunger  pressed  heavily  on  the  little  band,  whose 
only  resource  was  in  the  protection  of  heaven.  In  this  extremity  they 
addressed  earnest  prayers  to  God  to  obtain  a  change  of  the  apostate's  heart. 
The  rustic  altar  witnessed  daily  the  holy  sacrifice  offered  in  his  behalf.  At 
last  they  sent  to  him,  but  as  he  returned  evasive  answers.  Father  Quiros  set 
out,  determined  to  try  whether  a  personal  conference  would  not  effect  a 
return  in  the  misguided  man.  Don  Luis  met  him  with  hypocritical  excuses; 
and  furnishing  him  a  scanty  supply  of  provisions,  bade  him  return.  The 
dejected  missionary  and  his  companions,  Solis  and  Mendez,  turned  to  leave 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  I47 

the  village;  but  the  apostate's  hatred  was  too  deep.  Raising  a  war  cry,  he 
was  answered  by  the  tribe,  and  chief  and  warrior  rushed  on  the  unsuspecting 
missionaries,  and  butchered  them  without  mercy.  Ouiros  fell  first,  his  heart 
was  pierced  by  an  arrow  from  the  apostate's  bow. 

The  suspense  of  the  other  Jesuits  was  increased  by  the  non-appearance 
of  Father  Quiros  and  his  companions;  but  the  apostate  chief  came  at  last. 
The  habit  of  Quiros,  which  enveloped  his  swarthy  frame,  told  a  tale  which 
their  hearts  had  already  whispered,  yet  feared  to  believe.  Luis  coldly 
demanded  their  hatchets,  the  only  article  in  their  possession  with  which  they 
could  defend  themselves.  These  Segura  gave  up  in  silence,  and  knelt  with 
his  companions  in  prayer.  In  a  few  moments  the  signal  was  given;  a 
butchery  ensued,  and  of  all  the  party,  only  one  escaped,  an  Indian  boy 
educated  at  Havana. 

This  martyrdom  closed  all  hopes  of  a  mission  in  Upper  Florida,  and 
led  the  Jesuits  to  abandon  the  whole  province  for  the  more  inviting  field  of 
Mexico.  Three  priests  and  four  brothers  had  fallen  victims  to  the  perfidy  of 
the  natives;  one  had  sunk  under  his  toils  and  the  climate;  and  yet  no  bene- 
ficial result  had  crowned  their  efforts. 

The  Spaniards  heard  of  the  glorious  death  of  Father  Segura  and  his 
companions  from  Alonzo,  the  Indian  boy  who  had  been  spared,  and  who, 
contriving  at  last  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  apostate,  fled  to  the  Spanish 
post.  Strange  is  the  heart  of  man;  Luis  had  slain  the  missionaries,  yet  he 
decently  interred  them  all,  while  he  gave  the  consecrated  vessels  and  devo. 
tional  objects  to  his  clansmen  to  become  the  ornaments  of  the  braves  and 
squaws  of  Virginia. 

In  1572,  Governor  Melendez  sailed  to  the  Chesapeake  in  pursuit  of  the 
murderer.  He  landed,  as  the  Jesuit  Gonzalez  had  done  the  year  before,  and 
though  he  took  some  of  the  murderers,  failed  to  seize  the  apostate,  who 
roamed  amid  the  forests.  Eight  were  executed  for  their  crime,  all  of  whom, 
under  the  instructions  of  Father  Roger,  embraced  Christianity,  and  died  bless- 
ing the  Almighty.  This  was  the  last  missionary  act  of  Father  Roger  in 
Florida.  Fain  would  he  have  gone  to  disinter  the  hallowed  remains  of  his 
martyred  brethren,  but  to  this  the  governor  would  not  consent;  and  Father 
Roger,  leaving  the  land  of  which  his  labors  had  made  him  the  first,  if  not  the 
successful, apostle,  returned  with  the  other  missionaries  of  his  order  to  Havana, 
and  proceeding  thence  to  Mexico,  labored  there  for  many  years  with  zeal 
and  abundant  fruit. 


,48  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

A  new  band  of  missionaries  now  landed  in  Florida.  These  apparently 
were  Franciscans,  and  if  so,  their  mission  dates  properly  from  1573,  although 
others  of  their  order  must  have  been  there  occasionally  from  the  foundation 
of  St.  Augustine.  What  the  progress  of  the  colony  and  its  missions  would 
have  been  under  the  command  of  the  energetic  and  determined  Melendez, 
we  cannot  easily  judge,  but  he  was  too  great  a  naval  commander  for  the  king 
to  allow  him  to  consume  his  days  in  establishing  a  distant  colony.  Fleet 
after  fleet  had  been  confided  to  his  care,  and  he  was  now  called  upon  to 
lead  the  Great  Armada  agamst  England.  But  his  career  was  ended.  Amid 
the  busy  preparations,  amid  the  din  of  arsenals  and  shipyards,  Melendez 
expired  at  Corunna,  still  vigorous  and  unbroken  by  age,  in  the  height  of  his 
glory,  a  brave,  loyal  and  disinterested  naval  commander,  but  whose  fame  is 
blemished  by  one  act  of  blood.  His  death  was  a  fatal  blow  to  Spanish  colo- 
nization in  Florida.  The  northern  limit  of  the  colonies,  pushed  to  Chesapeake 
Bay  by  Melendez,  gradually  retired  to  the  St.  Mary's,  leaving  St.  Augustine 
almost  the  only  foothold  in  this  part  of  the  continent,  till  in  later  days 
Pensacola  rose  to  check  the  French  on  the  Mississippi. 

Though  Florida  languished,  the  missions  went  on.  More  Franciscans 
were  invited  in  1592,  and  the  usual  number,  twelve,  were  sent  under  Father 
John  de  Silva  as  superior.  They  arrived  the  following  year,  and  proceeded  to 
St.  Augustine,  to  put  themselves  at  the  disposal  of  Father  Francis  Marron, 
warden  of  the  convent  of  St.  Helena  in  that  city.  Father  Marron  had 
eagerly  awaited  their  coming  to  begin  the  Indian  missions,  which  he  deemed 
now  feasible,  from  the  flattering  account  given  by  Father  Perdomo,  who  in 
the  previous  year  had  traversed  much  of  Florida.  Fathers  Peter  de  Corpa, 
Michael  de  Auiion,  Francis  de  Velascola,  and  Bias  Rodriguez,  at  once  has- 
tened to  the  troubled  province  of  Guale,  and,  after  winning  the  natives  to 
peace,  took  separate  stations  nearer  the  cit^'.  Meanwhile  the  Mexican  father, 
Francis  Pareja,  drew  up,  in  the  language  of  the  Yamassees,  his  abridgment 
of  Christian  doctrine,  the  first  work  in  any  of  our  Indian  languages  that 
issued  from  the  press.  Father  Corpa,  at  Tolemato — -the  ground  now  occupied 
by  the  cemetery  at  St.  Augustine — endeavored  to  overcome  polygamy  and 
vice,  while  Father  Bias  de  Montes,  after  planting  the  cross  by  the  little  creek 
near  St.  Augustine,  gathered  alms  in  the  city  to  raise  beside  it  the  chapel  of 
Our  Lady.  Fathers  Auiion  and  Badajoz  remained  at  Guale,  which  soon 
whitened  for  the  harvest,  while  other  fathers  in  St.  Peter's  Isle  labored  in  all 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  1 49 

the  rivalry  of  zeal  to  gain  to  heaven  and  to  progress  the  fickle  and  often  ill- 
treated  children  of  the  forest. 

For  two  years  these  apostolic  men  labored  in  peace,  and  succeeded  in 
forming  regular  villages  of  neophytes,  who  no  longer  bowed  the  knee  to 
Baal  (for,  like  the  Sabaians,  these  tribes  worshiped  the  sun  and  fire),  or 
practiced  the  polygamy  which  had  so  long  induced  them  to  turn  a  deaf  ear 
to  the  teachings  of  the  missionaries. 

Amid  this  reign  of  peace  a  storm  suddenly  arose,  which  turned  the 
smiling  garden  once  more  into  a  howling  wilderness.  In  September,  1597, 
Father  Corpa  found  it  necessary  to  reprove  publicly  the  cacique's  son,  whose 
unbridled  licentiousness  had  long  grieved  the  missionary's  heart.  One  of  the 
earliest  converts,  he  had,  after  a  short  period  of  fervor,  plunged  into  every 
vicious  excess.  Vain  had  been  all  the  entreaties  and  remonstrances  which 
De  Corpa  addressed  him  in  private.  A  public  rebuke  was  the  only  means  of 
arresting  a  scandal  which  had  already  excited  the  taunts  of  unbelievers. 
Enraged  at  the  disgrace,  the  young  chief  left  the  town,  and,  repairing  to  a 
neighboring  village,  soon  gathered  a  body  of  braves  as  eager  as  himself  for  a 
work  of  blood.  In  the  night  he  returned  with  his  followers  to  Tolemato; 
they  crept  silently  up  to  the  chapel;  its  feeble  doors  presented  too  slight  an 
obstacle  to  arrest  their  progress.  The  missionary  was  kneeling  before  the 
altar  in  prayer,  and  there  they  slew  him ;  a  single  blow  of  a  tomahawk 
stretched  him  lifeless  on  the  ground.  The  spot  thus  hallowed  by  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  the  missionary  then  lay  without  the  walls  of  St.  Augustine,  but  is 
now  the  cemetery  of  that  city.  When  day  broke,  the  Indian  village  was 
filled  with  grief  and  terror,  but  the  young  chief  well  knew  the  men  with 
whom  he  had  to  deal.  Appealing  to  their  national  feeling,  he  bade  them 
take  heart;  he  had  slain  the  friar  for  interfering  with  their  time-honored  cus- 
toms; the  day  had  come  when  they  must  strike  a  blow,  or  submit  to  be  for- 
ever slaves.  This  faith  of  the  Spaniards  that  deprived  men  of  enjoyment, 
that  took  from  them  the  dearest  of  their  wives,  and  bade  them  give  up  war, 
could  no  longer  be  borne.  He  had  begun  the  great  work,  and  they  had  no 
alternative  but  to  join  him.  Terrible  vengeance  would  the  Spaniard  wreak, 
and  their  only  course  was  to  proceed  to  a  general  massacre — first  of  the  friars, 
tiien  of  all  the  other  Spaniards. 

Enough  joined  him  to  overawe  those  who  remained  faithful.  The  mis- 
sionary's head  was  cut  off  am!  set  on  a  spear  over  the  gate,  while  his  body 
was  flun<r  out  to  the  fowls  of  the  air. 


150  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

The  camp  of  Topoqui  was  the  next  point  to  which  they  hurried,  appar- 
ently before  the  authorities  of  St.  Augustine  were  at  all  aware  of  the  plot 
which  was  already  threatening  the  Spanish  power  in  Florida.  Bursting 
unheralded  into  the  chapel  of  Our  Lady,  the  insurgents  informed  Father 
Rodriguez  of  the  fate  of  Corpa,  and  bade  him  prepare  to  die.  Struck  with 
amazement  at  their  blindness  and  infatuation,  the  missionary  used  every  argu- 
ment to  divert  them  from  a  scheme  which  would  end  in  their  ruin ;  he  offered 
to  obtain  their  pardon  for  the  past  if  they  would  abandon  their  wild  project — 
but  in  vain.  Finding  all  his  eloquence  useless,  he  asked  leave  to  say  Mass 
before  dying.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  was  granted.  He  vested  for  the 
altar  and  began  the  Mass.  His  executioners  lay  grouped  on  the  chapel  floor 
awaiting  anxiously,  but  quietly,  the  end  of  the  sacrifice,  which  was  to  prelude 
his  own.  The  august  mysteries  proceeded  without  interruption,  and  when  all 
was  ended  the  missionary  came  down  and  knelt  at  the  foot  of  the  altar.  The 
next  moment  it  was  bespattered  with  his  brains.  Throwing  his  body  into  an 
adjoining  field,  the  murderers  pressed  on,  anxious  to  make  up  by  their  speed 
for  the  delay  wrung  from  them  by  the  fearless  eloquence  of  Montes, 

Their  present  destination  was  the  Island  of  Guale,  to  whose  cacique 
they  had  already  sent  orders  to  despatch  the  missionaries  at  Asopo.  The 
chief,  however,  was  friendly  to  the  fathers,  and  sent  a  messenger  to  warn 
them  of  their  danger.  Unfortunately,  the  faithless  envoy  never  fulfilled 
the  errand,  but  deceived  the  chief  by  a  pretended  answer  from  Auiion. 
When  the  insurgents  reached  the  island,  the  chief  hastened  to  Auiion  himself, 
to  insist  on  his  flight;  here  he  discovered  the  treachery  of  his  servant,  and 
that  all  escape  was  now  cut  off.  Father  Auiion  consoled  him,  assuring  all  of 
his  happiness  at  shedding  his  blood  for  the  faith.  He  then  said  Mass,  and 
gave  the  Holy  Communion  to  his  companion,  Antonio  de  Badajoz.  A  few 
moments  devoted  to  silent  prayer  followed,  then  the  tramp  and  the  yell  of  an 
angry  crowd  announced  the  coming  of  the  insurgents.  Calmly  had  the 
Franciscans  lived,  calmly  they  died.  Kneeling,  Badajoz  received  one,  Auuon 
two  blows  of  a  club,  and  both  sank  in  death.  The  chapel  now  seemed  to  be 
filled  with  awe,  for  the  murderers  retired  as  if  in  flight,  leaving  the  bodies  to 
be  interred  by  the  friendly  cacique. 

Asao  was  the  next  mission,  but  here  the  insurgents  were  at  first  baffled. 
Velascola,  the  greatest  of  the  missionaries,  was  absent  when  they  arrived. 
Well  might  they  fear  his  power,  and  feel  their  work  half  done,  unless  they 
could  end  his  life  of  zeal.     A  perfect  religious,  learned,  poor,  and,  humble. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  151 

he  combined  the  greatest  mildness  with  the  greatest  firmness,  and  possessed 
over  the  Indians  an  influence  which  no  other  of  his  countrymen  ever  attained 
Provoked  at  his  absence,  they  resolved  to  await  his  return  in  ambush,  and  as 
he  landed,  a  few  went  out  to  welcome  him  with  treacherous  words,  while 
others  fell  on  him  with  clubs  and  axes,  and  did  not  leave  him  till  his  body 
was  one  quivering,  shapeless  mass. 

Father  Avila's  chapel,  at  Ospa.  was  next  attacked.  Hearing  the 
approach  of  the  murderous  band,  he  took  the  alarm  and  fled,  but  was  overtaken 
and  brought  back.  He  escaped  again,  and  reached  a  cane-break,  where,  in 
the  darkness,  for  night  had  come  on,  he  hoped  to  elude  observation;  but  the 
moon  betrayed  him.  Wounded  by  a  shower  of  arrows,  he  fell  into  their 
hands,  and  was  condemned  to  die.  His  habit,  however,  excited  the  cupidity 
of  one  of  the  Indians,  who  interfered  in  his  behalf.  Then  changing  their 
plans,  they  stripped  the  missionary,  and,  binding  him  to  a  stake,  carried  him 
to  a  neighboring  village,  where  they  sold  him  as  a  slave. 

After  destroying  his  chapel,  the  party  proceeded  on  its  errand  of  death, 
and  so  many  had  now  joined  them  that  they  bore  down  on  St.  Peter's  Isle 
with  a  flotilla  of  forty  war-canoes.  As  they  drew  near,  and  doubled  a  head- 
land, they  descried  a  Spanish  vessel  lying  at  anchor  near  the  mission.  It  was 
but  a  provision  boat  with  supplies  for  the  fathers,  and  had  but  one  soldier  on 
board.  Its  mere  appearance,  however,  disconcerted  all  their  plans;  new 
counsels  were  to  be  adopted ;  the  chiefs  began  to  discuss  a  plan  of  action,  but 
while  all  were  in  hot  dispute,  they  were  suddenly  attacked  and  routed  by  the 
chieftain  of  St.  Peter's,  who  by  this  victory  broke  their  power  forever.  The 
missionaries  welcomed  their  deliverer  with  heartfelt  gratitude,  and  soon 
learned  how  wide  had  been  the  destruction. 

Father  Avila  was  meanwhile  a  prisoner.  The  slave  of  savages,  for  a 
year  he  dug  their  fields  ami  performed  every  menial  oflice,  till,  weary  of  him, 
his  inhuman  masters  at  last  resolved  to  put  him  to  death.  Tied  to  the  stake, 
with  the  fagots  around  him,  he  spurno<l  the  offer  of  life  matle  on  condition 
that  he  should  renounce  his  God  and  marry  into  the  tribe.  He  now  looked 
forward  to  the  crown  of  martyrdom  which  his  companions  already  enjoyed, 
when  an  old  woman  demanded  him  to  effect  the  liberation  of  her  son,  a 
prisoner  at  St.  Augustine.  Her  demand  was  granted,  and  Father  Avila,  so 
changed  by  his  savage  life  and  ijrutal  treatment  as  to  be  past  all  recognition, 
was  once  more  restored  to  his  countrymen. 

The  missions  were  now  almost  abandoned  till    1601,  when  the  governor 


152  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

of  Florida  made  a  new  effort  to  secure  laborers  for  tliat  barren  field.  He 
was  not  unsuccessful.  Florida  was  the  next  year  visited  by  the  bishop  of 
Cuba,  who,  witnessing  the  extreme  spiritual  want  of  the  people,  aided  the 
governor's  efforts.  Bodies  of  Franciscans  were  continually  sent,  and  the 
wardenship  of  Florida  was  so  much  augmented  that  it  was  soon  made  a 
Franciscan  province,  under  the  name  of  St.  Helena,  from  its  principal  convent. 

On  restoring  the  mission  at  Guale  or  Amelia  Island  in  1605,  it  was  the 
pious  care  of  the  missionaries  to  take  up  the  bodies  of  Auiion  and  Badajoz 
from  their  unhonored  graves  and  place  them  In  a  position  worthy  of  their 
virtues  and  glorious  death. 

The  progress  of  the  mission  in  succeeding  years  must  have  been  very 
great,  although  we  have  no  details  of  the  results.  Twenty-three  missionaries 
were  sent  from  Cadiz  in  161 2,  under  the  Peruvian  Father  J^ouis  Jerome  de 
Or^,  himself  the  author  of  a  Relation  of  the  Martyrs  of  Florida,  and  several 
works  for  the  missions.  In  16 13,  eight,  and  two  years  after,  twelve  more 
Franciscans  of  the  province  of  the  Angels  in  Mexico  were  also  sent  to 
Florida,  where  they  soon  learned  the  language  and  labored  with  such  success 
that  they  ere  long  required  assistance.  In  less  than  two  years  they  were 
established  at  the  principal  points,  and  numbered  no  less  than  twenty  con- 
vents or  residences  in  Florida.  These  were  not  confined  to  the  coast.  A 
missionary  whose  name  is  not  given,  followed  by  Father  Alonzo  Serrano, 
penetrated  the  interior  and  explored  the  various  localities,  which  long  bore 
the  names  he  gave  them. 

The  mission  was  now  steadily  extended  and  stations  established  among 
the  Apalaches.  That  tribe  had  attacked  the  Spaniards  in  163S,  but  were 
defeated,  and  the  missionaries  soon  made  them  friendly.  Many  were  employed 
on  the  public  works,  and,  receiving  protection  and  consolation  from  the  Fran- 
ciscans, obtained  them  a  favorable  reception  in  the  villages  of  their  tribe. 

Missions  were  gradually  formed  among  the  Apalaches  and  Creeks  in 
many  parts  of  West  Florida  and  Georgia.  In  1643,  they  began  a  mission  at 
Achalaque,  and  soon  baptized  the  chief,  thus  renewing  the  faith  among  the 
Cherokees.  When  Bristock,  an  English  traveler,  visited  it  ten  years  later,  a 
flourishing  reduction  existed,  and  he  was  hospitably  received  by  the  mission- 
aries at  their  station,  a  beautiful  spot  on  the  mountain-side.  Several  of  the 
governors  were  greatly  devoted  to  the  cause,  especially,  however,  Paul  de 
Hita,  who  founded  a  mission  on  the  western  shore  of  the  peninsula,  aided  by 
the  zealous  Sebastian  de  la  Cerda,  the  pastor  of  St.  Augustine,  who,  with 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  1 53 

some  secular  priests  from  Cuba,  undertook  it  in  1679.  In  the  following  year 
a  royal  decree  permitted  any  priest  to  devote  himself  to  these  missions,  but 
owing  to  some  secret  opposition,  the  learned  and  pious  Canon  John  de  Cis- 
neros,  who,  with  seven  priests,  volunteered  to  serve  in  the  missions,  was 
never  able  to  realize  his  great  design. 

Unfortunately,  at  this  time  some  disputes  arose  which  retarded  the 
missions,  and  the  Indians  even  made  complaints  against  their  directors,  and 
these  complaints  were  used  for  political  purposes.  Tranquillity  was  at  last 
restored,  and  a  permanent  benefit  resulted  in  a  set  of  regular  instructions  for 
the  government  of  the  reductions,  which  obviated  all  further  difficulty. 

The  encroaching  colonies  of  England  presently  troubled  this  field.  In 
16S4,  the  Yamassees,  rejecting  their  missionaries,  joined  the  English;  in  the 
following  year  they  attacked  the  mission  of  St.  Catharine's  and,  taking  it  by 
surprise,  plundered  the  church  and  convent,  and  burnt  the  town.  Soon  after, 
the  old  charges  against  the  Franciscans  were  renewed,  and  great  discussions 
ensued,  but  still  the  work  went  on.  In  1690,  the  provincial  sent  Father 
Salvador  Bueno  to  San  Salvador  de  Maiaca,  to  found  a  new  mission.  He  was 
well  received,  and  soon  had  a  flourishing  station  around  him. 

The  foundation  of  Pensacola,  in  1693,  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  mis- 
sions in  West  Florida.  Four  years  later,  five  Franciscan  missionaries 
attempted  to  found  a  mission  on  the  Carlos  Keys,  but  the  Indians  believing 
the  processions  and  religious  rites  of  the  missionaries  to  be  some  magical 
ceremony  for  their  destruction,  drove  them  out,  and  they  proceeded  to  the 
Matacumbe  Key,  in  Florida  channel,  where  the  inhabitants  were  all  Catholics. 

By  this  time  the  Spanish  colony,  though  itself  small,  was  surrounded  by 
Indian  tribes,  most  of  whom  were,  to  some  extent,  converted;  towns  of 
converts  existed  all  along  the  Apalachicola,  Flint,  and  other  rivers;  these 
were  all  directed  by  Franciscan  missionaries,  who  had  acquired  a  complete 
mastery  over  those  fierce  tribes.  But  war  was  now  impending;  the  English 
rapidly  encroached  on  the  colony,  and  freijucntly  attacked  the  mission  stations 
to  carry  off  the  "  Indian  converts  of  the  Spanish  priests,"  to  sell  them  as 
slaves  in  Charleston  and  other  ports.  Six  hundred  were  killed  or  taken  on 
tile  river  Flint  in  1703;  but  the  greatest  blow  was  given  in  1704,  when  an 
English  force,  with  a  large  body  of  Alabamas,  took  St.  Marks,  the  center  of 
the  Apalachee  mission,  and  completely  destroyed  it.  Don  Juan  Mejia,  the 
commander  of  the  post,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Three  Franciscans, 
who  dn'cctcil   the   neophytes,  went   out   to  obtain   terms   for  thcii   childrer; 


154  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

but  they,  too,  were  taken  and  put  to  death  with  all  the  terrors  of  Indian 
barbarity.  Bv  these  blows  the  Apalaches  were  so  reduced,  that  in  a  few 
years  only  four  hundred  could  be  found  of  a  tribe  that  once  had  numbered 
seven  thousand.  All  the  stations  between  the  Altamaha  and  Savannah  were 
broken  up,  and  such  as  escaped  slavery  or  death  fled  into  the  peninsula. 
Eight  hundred  had  been  killed  on  the  spot,  or  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Indian  allies  of  the  English;  fourteen  hundred  were  carried  off  by  Governor 
Moore  and  settled  at  Savannah. 

The  war  was  soon  after  renewed.  The  Atimucas,  a  tribe  whose  center 
was  at  Ayavalla  on  the  Apalachicola,  were  attacked  by  the  English  in  1706. 
A  bare-footed  Franciscan  came  out  of  the  town  to  obtain  favorable  terms,  as 
English  accounts  assure  us,  but  of  his  fate  we  know  nothing.  The  Atimucas 
were  driven  from  their  towns,  and  a  portion  of  them  retired  to  the  east 
side  of  St.  John's  River,  where  they  founded  a  new  town,  known  as  the 
Pueblo  de  Atimucos. 

By  these  wars  many  of  the  missions  were  entirely  broken  up,  and  all 
suffered  greatly.  The  Christians  were  again  mingled  with  the  pagans,  and 
many,  for  want  of  their  religious  guides,  fell  away.  Some  tribes,  too,  won 
by  the  English,  rejected  the  missionaries.  In  a  few  years,  however,  the  latter 
became  aware  of  their  error.  The  Yamassees,  who  had  been  the  first  to  join 
the  English,  and  had,  as  we  have  seen,  destroyed  a  Franciscan  mission,  now 
organized  a  general  confederacy  against  their  former  friends,  and  in  17 15 
burst  on  their  settlements.  Defeated,  at  last,  they  took  refuge  in  Florida, 
where  they  afterwards  remained.  In  this  war  the  Christian  Indians  took  an 
active  part,  led  by  Osiuntolo,  a  Creek  chief,  Adrian,  an  Apalachicola,  John 
Mark,  of  the  same  tribe,  and  Tixjana,  war-chief  of  the  Talisi,  a  band  of  the 
Tallapoosas,  who  had  visited  Mexico,  had  been  baptized  there  by  the  name 
of  Baltasar,  and  appointed  Maese  del  Campo  of  his  tribe. 

As  the  negotiations  with  the  English  at  the  close  of  the  war  were  quite 
favorable  to  the  Indians,  the  fervent  John  Mark  and  other  Christian  chiefs 
thought  of  restoring  the  former  reductions.  After  several  vain  attempts  to 
induce  the  Spanish  government  to  build  a  fort  to  protect  them,  he,  at  last,  in 
171S,  founded,  with  one  hundred  souls,  the  missions  of  Our  Lady  of  Loneliness 
and  St.  Louis,  where  missionaries  soon  began  their  labors.  Most  of  the  mis- 
sionary stations  in  this  quarter,  however,  were  abandoned  when  Father 
Charlevoix  visited  in  1733. 

From  this  period  few  details  of  the  missions  have  reached  us   down  to 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  155 

the  time  when  Spain  ceded  Florida  to  Enghind  by  the  treaty  of  Paris  (  1763). 
This  was  the  death-blow  of  the  missions.  The  Franciscans  left  the  colony 
with  most  of  the  Spanish  settlers;  the  Indians,  who  occupied  two  towns 
under  the  walls  of  St.  Augustine,  were  expelled  from  the  grounds  cultivated 
by  their  toil  for  years,  and  deprived  of  their  church,  which  they  had  them- 
selves erected.  All  was  given  by  the  governor  to  the  newly  established 
English  church.  In  ten  years  not  one  was  left  near  the  city.  The  Indians 
thus  driven  out  became  wanderers,  and  received  the  name  of  Seminoles,  which 
has  that  meaning.  By  degrees  all  traces  of  their  former  civilization  and 
Christianity  disappeared,  and  they  have  since  been  known  only  by  their  bitter 
hate  of  the  successors  of  the  Spaniards. 

England,  in  a  possession  of  twenty  years,  completely  destroyed  what  had 
survived  of  the  Franciscan  missions;  no  successful  attempt  was  made  by  the 
Spaniards  after  1783  to  re-establish  them,  and  now  scarce  a  trace  remains, 
unless  we  consider  the  Seminoles  themselves  as  a  striking  monument  of  the  dif- 
ferent results  obtained  by  the  Catholic  government  of  Spain  and  the  Protest- 
ant government  of  England.  The  one  converted  the  savages  into  Christians 
— a  quiet,  orderly,  industrious  race,  living  side  by  side  \Vith  the  Spaniards  them- 
selves, in  peace  and  comfort;  the  other  replunged  the  same  tribes  back  into 
barbarism  and  paganism,  and  converted  them  into  a  fearful  scourge  of  her 
own  colonies. 

The  government  of  our  own  country  failed  to  repair  the  wrong  and  har- 
vested a  fearful  penalty.  In  1S32,  the  Seminoles  of  Florida,  dissatisfied  with 
a  treaty  for  their  removal,  made  by  some  of  their  chiefs,  made  a  determined 
resistance  under  the  leadership  of  Osceola.  General  Thompson  and  a  few 
companions  were  killed  and  scalped  near  Fort  King,  December  28,  1835,  and 
the  same  day,  at  a  place  many  miles  distant,  a  detachment  of  one  hundred  sol- 
diers under  Major  Dade  were  surprised  and  all  but  four  were  slain. 

A  few  days  later  General  Clinch  fought  a  battle  with  the  Seminoles  on 
the  Withlacoochee,  and  in  February,  1836,  General  Gaines  inflicted  upon  them 
a  severe  defeat  near  the  same  place.  In  May,  the  Creeks  of  Georgia  and  Ala- 
bama joined  the  Seminoles,  but  General  Scott  soon  subdued  them  and  they 
were  sent  across  the  Mississippi.  The  Seminoles  still  held  out,  and,  lurking 
in  the  trackless  swamps  known  as  the  Everglades,  they  caused  the  soldiers 
much  suffering.  Osceola,  having  once  made  a  treaty  and  broken  it,  was  cap- 
tured and  imprisoned  at  Fort  Moultrie,  at  Charleston,  where  he  died.  Soon 
afterwards  Colonel  Zachary  Taylor,  later  president  of  the  Republic,  defeated 


156  TRIALS  A\D  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  hapless  redskins  after  a  fierce  battle.  This  broke  their  spirit  ami  many 
were  removed,  but  it  was  only  in  1841  that  they  were  finally  subdued  by  cut- 
ting down  their  crops  and  sweeping  off  their  cattle,  after  costing  the  United 
States  a  seven  years'  war,  many  millions  of  dollars,  and  thousands  of  gallant 
lives. 

We  may  here  sketch  briefly  the  history  of  other  Spanish  missions  whicli 
were  begun  at  an  early  day  in  tiie  region  now  embraced  by  our  Southern 
States.  It  has  been  already  noted,  in  the  account  of  Coronado's  expedition* 
how  the  zealous  Father  Padilla  and  his  companion  attempted  to  plant  tlic 
faith  along  the  upper  Rio  Grande,  and  the  failure  of  their  efforts  to  convert 
the  tribes  of  New  Mexico. 

The  unfavorable  account  given  by  Coronado  prevented  any  further  secu- 
lar exploration  of  the  territory;  it  was  left  to  the  zeal  of  Christian  mission- 
aries to  explore  it  again.  Meanwhile  the  Indian  missions  of  Mexico  were 
steadily  advancing  to  the  north,  and  in  15S0  there  dwelt  in  the  valley  of  St. 
Bartholomew  a  pious  lay-brother  named  Augustine  Rodriguez,  who  had  grown 
old  amid  austerities  and  toil  in  the  Franciscan  missions.  Hearing,  from  Indi- 
ans who  visited  the  mission,  that  populous  countries,  unvisited  by  the  Span- 
iards, lay  to  the  north,  he  burned  with  the  desire  of  announcing  to  them  the 
gospel  of  Christ. 

His  zeal  induced  him  to  apply  to  his  provincial  for  leave  to  go  and  learn 
their  language.  The  viceroy  of  Mexico  approved  the  mission,  and  the  good 
brother  was  not  allowed  to  depart  alone.  A  regular  mission  was  projected. 
Father  Francis  Lopez,  of  Seville,  was  named  Superior;  the  learned  and  sci- 
entific Father  John  de  Santa  Maria,  with  brother  Rodriguez,  were  selected  to 
accompany  the  expedition,  and  they  all  set  out  in  the  year  15S1,  with  ten  sol- 
diers and  six  Mexican  Indians,  and  advanced  to  the  country  of  the  Tehuas. 
At  this  point  they  were  compelled  to  halt,  for  the  soldiers,  seeing  seven  hun- 
dred weary  miles  behind  them,  refused  to  proceed.  Tlie  missionaries,  after  a 
vain  appeal  to  tlieir  honor,  pride,  patriotism,  and  religion,  allowed  them  to 
depart,  and  began  to  examine  the  tribe  among  whom  they  were.  This  New 
Mexican  tribe  lived  then,  as  in  Padilla's  time,  in  their  peculiar  houses,  andi 
unlike  the  wild  Indians  of  the  plains  beyond,  dressed  in  cotton  mantles.  The 
missionaries  were  so  pleased  with  the  manners  of  the  people  that  they  resolved 
to  begin  a  mission  among  them,  and  the  success  of  their  first  efforts  so  exalted 
their  hopes  that  they  sent  Father  John  de  Santa  Maria  b.ack  to  Mexico  to  bring 
auxiliaries.     Fearless,  and  reliant  on   his  skill,  the  missionary  set  out  alone, 


CATHOLIC  CIU'RCH  /.V  AMERICA  157 

with  his  compass,  to  strike  direct  for  the  nearest  settlement;  but,  while  asleep 
by  the  wayside,  on  the  third  day  after  his  departure,  he  was  surprised  and  killed 
by  a  party  of  wandering  Indians.  The  others  meanwhile  proceeded  with 
their  missionary  labors,  instructing  the  people,  till,  at  last,  in  an  attack  on  the 
town.  Father  Lopez  fell  beneath  the  shafts  of  the  assailants,  and  Brother 
Rodriguez,  the  projector  of  the  mission,  was  left  to  conduct  it  alone. 

The  people  were  not  indifferent  to  his  teaching,  but  vice  had  charms  too 
powerful  for  them  to  submit  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Cross.  Rodriguez 
inveighed  with  all  the  fire  of  an  apostle  against  the  awful  sins  to  which  they 
were  adtlictcd,  till,  weary  at  last  of  his  reproaches,  they  silenced  the  unwelcome 
monitor  in  death. 

Meanwhile  the  returning  soldiers  had  excited  the  anxiety  of  the  Francis- 
cans, and  at  their  instance  Don  Antonio  de  Espejo,  a  rich,  brave  and  pious 
man,  set  out,  in  15S2,  with  Father  Bernardine  Beltran,  but  arrived  only  to 
learn  the  death  of  all. 

Some  time  after,  two  other  Franciscans,  who  accompanied  an  expedition 
under  Castaiio,  were  put  to  death  at  Puaray,  but  no  details  remain. 

In  1597,  Juan  de  Onate  led  a  colony  to  the  northern  Rio  Grande,  and 
founded  San  Gabriel,  the  first  Spanish  post  in  that  quarter.  Eight  Franciscans 
had  set  out  with  him  under  Father  Roderic  Duran;  but  as  the  latter  returned 
with  a  part  of  the  forces,  the  other  missionaries  proceeded  with  Father 
Alonzo  Mintinez  as  commissary  or  superior.  For  a  year  Oiiate  was  engaged 
in  establishing  his  post  and  exploring  the  country — the  missionaries,  on  their 
side,  investigating  the  manners,  customs,  language  and  religion  of  the  people. 
Having,  in  addition  to  the  knowledge  already  acquired  of  their  mechanical  arts 
and  singular  dwellings,  sought  to  unravel  their  theology,  they  found  great 
difiiculty.  All  were  loth  to  speak  at  any  length  on  the  point.  They  learned, 
however,  that  they  adored  principally  three  demons,  or  rather  sought  to  pro- 
pitiate them,  especially  in  times  of  drought.  These  deities  were  called  Cocapo, 
Cacina,  and  llomace;  to  the  first  of  wiiom  a  tcmiilc  was  raised  some  ten  feet 
wide  and  twice  as  deep.  At  the  end  sat  the  idol  of  stone  or  clay,  represent- 
ing the  god,  bearing  some  eggs  in  one  hand  and  some  ears  of  maize  in  tiie 
other.  In  this  temple  an  old  woman  presided  as  priestess,  and  directed  the 
ceremonies  by  wliich  the  natives  implored  rain — a  blessing  the  more  necessary', 
as  the  streams  frequently  run  dry. 

At  the  close  of  a  year,  Onate  wished  to  send  a  report  of  his  proceedings 
to  Mexico.     To  bear  his  dispatches,  antl  urge  the  dispatch  of  reinforcements, 


158  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

he  selected  the  commissary,  Father  Martinez,  who  set  out  with  Father 
Christopher  Salazar  and  the  lay -brother,  Peter  de  Vergara;  but  on  the  way, 
Father  Christopher  died,  and  was  buried  under  a  tree  in  the  wilderness. 

The  account  brought  by  Father  Martinez  induced  the  provincial  to  send 
new  missionaries,  and  as  Martinez  was  unable  to  return,  Father  John  de 
Escalona,  a  man  of  great  virtue  and  sanctity,  was  chosen  commissary  in  his 
stead,  and  set  out  with  several  fathers  of  his  order.  Meanwhile,  Onate,  with 
Father  Francis  de  Velasco  and  a  lay-brother,  struck  farther  into  the  country, 
but  without  effecting  any  good. 

There  is  extant  a  letter  of  Father  Escalona,  dated  in  1601,  in  which  he 
speaks  despondingly  of  the  Indian  mission,  and  of  the  little  good  vviiich  lie 
and  his  associates  had  as  yet  been  able  to  do,  from  the  manner  in  which  Ofiate 
controlled  and  interrupted  their  labors. 

His  superiors,  however,  did  not  share  his  despondency.  They  sent  out 
six  new  missionaries,  under  Father  Francis  de  Escobar,  now  appointed  suc- 
cessor to  Escalona.  Under  this  enterprising  missionary,  the  church  took  new 
life.  The  missionaries  already  there,  skilled  in  all  the  accessories  needed — a 
knowledge  of  the  language  and  people,  and  a  sort  of  naturalization  among 
them — soon  made  rapid  progress.  By  the  year  1608,  when  Father  Escobar 
was  at  last  allowed  to  resign  his  post  of  commissary,  the  missionaries  in  New 
Mexico  had  baptized  eight  thousand  of  the  people. 

His  successor,  Father  Feinado,  was  no  less  skilled  as  a  director,  or  suc- 
cessful as  a  missionary.  Gradually  the  Cross  advanced  from  town  to  town, 
and  in  all  won  votaries,  who  at  last  forsook  Cocapo  to  worship  Christ. 

Of  the  state  of  the  mission  in  1626,  less  than  thirty  years  after  its 
foundation,  we  have  a  detailed  account,  in  a  memoir  addressed  to  the  Spanish 
court  by  Father  Benavides,  one  of  the  apostles  of  New  Mexico.  A  mission 
had  just  then  been  established  at  Socorro,  making  the  27th  in  New  Mexico. 
Several  of  these  stations  possessed  large  and  beautiful  churches.  At  Queres 
all  were  baptized,  and  many  of  the  Indians  had  learned  to  read  and  write. 
Four  thousand  had  been  baptized  at  Tanos,  two  thousand  at  Taos,  and  many 
at  other  towns.  There  were  residences  or  convents  at  St.  Antonio  or 
Senecu,  Socorro,  Pilabo,  Sevilleta,  St.  Francis,  and  Isleta,  among  the  Topiras, 
the  Teoas,  the  Ficuries,  and  at  Zuiii,  while  Santa  F^,  Pecos,  St.  Joseph  or 
Hemes,  and  the  Queres,  could  boast  their  sumptuous  churches;  and  mission- 
aries were  residing,  not  only  in  the  difficult  mission  of  Zuni,  but  in  Acoma, 
which  had  so  often  been  reddened  with  Spanish  blood.     So  rapid  had  been 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  159 

the  progress  of  Christianity  and  civilization  on  the  Rio  Grande,  that  the 
Indians,  or  Pueblos,  as  they  began  to  be  called,  could  read  and  write  there, 
before  the  Puritans  were  established  on  the  shores  of  New  England. 

Among  those  who  contributed  to  bring  about  so  happy  a  result,  were 
Father  Benavides,  Fathers  Lopez  and  Salas  at  Jumanas,  Father  Ortego,  and, 
wc  ma\-  add,  the  venerable  Maria  de  Jesus  de  Agreda,  whose  mysterious  con- 
nection with  the  New  Mexican  mission,  whether  now  believed  or  not,  cer- 
tainly drew  great  attention  to  it,  and  gave  it  an  extraordinary  impulse. 
Benavides  met  a  tribe  which  no  missionary  had  as  yet  reached,  and  found 
them,  to  his  amazement,  instructed  in  the  doctrines  of  Christianity.  On 
inquiring,  he  learned  that  they  had  been  taught  by  a  lady,  whose  form  and 
dress  they  described.  This  account  he  gave  in  his  work,  published  in  1630. 
Subsequently,  Father  Bernardine  de  Sena  told  him  that  the  nun,  Maria  de 
Agreda,  had,  eight  years  before,  related  to  him  apparitions  of  a  similar  char- 
acter. Benavides  then  visited  her,  and  was  at  once  struck  with  her  resem- 
blance to  the  lady  described  by  the  Indians,  and  still  more  so  by  her  account 
of  the  country  and  the  labors  of  the  missionaries,  of  which  she  related  many 
remarkable  incidents. 

The  difficult  mission  of  Zuiii  had  been  confided  to  Father  John  Letrado. 
After  spending  some  time  there,  he  resolved  to  attempt  the  spiritual  conquest 
of  the  Cipias,  but  perished  in  his  work  of  zeal.  Similar  was  the  fate  of 
Father  Martin  de  Arbide,  who,  undaunted  by  the  danger,  attempted  to  reach 
the  same  tribe. 

Gradually  various  causes  seem  to  have  driven  the  missionaries  from  most 
of  these  posts.  No  general  revolt  occurred,  but  the  territory  must  have  been 
abandoned  before  1660.  In  that  year  two  missionaries  returned,  founded 
missions,  and  preached  for  two  years.  The  Indians  then  rose  against  them, 
stripped  them  naked,  and  expelled  them  from  their  villages.  Yielding  to 
the  storm,  they  retired  to  Parral,  where  they  were  found  by  some  Spanish 
soldiers  nearly  dead  with  cold  and  hunger.  They  soon  recovered  their 
strength,  and  undeterred  by  the  past,  returned  in  the  following  year  and 
founded  successively  the  missions  of  Our  Lady  la  Redonda,  Collani,  Santa 
F6,  San  Pedro  tlcl  Cuchillo,  San  Cristobal,  San  Juan,  and  Guadalupe.  Zuni 
was  the  last  mission  founded  at  this  time.  Once  more  the  churches  flourished, 
and  the 'Catholic  Indians  for  several  years  enjoyed  all  the  blessings  of  religion; 
the  pagan  portion,  however,  were  still  obdurate,  and  maintained  a  stubborn 
opposition  to  the  missionaries.     In  16S0  they  succeeded  in  raising  a  general 


!6o  TRIALS  AXn  TRIUMPHS  OF  TUB 

revolt,  ill  which  all  but  San  Juan  dc  los  Cabelleros  joined.  A  scene  of  pillage 
and  devastation  ensued:  San  Pascual,  Sevillete,  and  Socorro  were  destroyed, 
and  missionaries  were  killed  at  several  of  the  stations,  as  well  as  among  the 
Moquis  and  Navajoes,  to  whom  some  adventurous  fathers  had  penetrated. 

After  a  few  years  peace  was  again  restored:  the  missions  rose  again, 
never,  indeed,  on  the  same  footing,  as  many  churches  were  never  rebuilt,  for 
the  new  colonies  were  much  harassed  by  the  Apaches. 

In  1733  a  new  mission  was  founded  among  the  Apaches  themselves  at 
Jicarillas,  but  after  a  short  existence  it  closed,  the  Indians  retiring  to  their 
tribes.  A  new  missionary  spirit  was,  however,  awakened;  in  1742,  Father 
John  Menchero  proceeded  to  the  territory  of  the  Moquis  anil  Navajoes,  and 
with  his  companions  succeeded  in  making  several  converts  on  that  ground,  so 
often  the  object  of  the  ambition  of  his  associates. 

Villasenor,  who  published  his  Teatro  Americano  in  1748,  gives  a  brief 
but  flattering  picture  of  the  state  of  the  country  at  that  time.  The  Indians 
were  all  well  clad  in  stuffs  vi^oven  by  the  women ;  industry  prevailed  in  their 
villages,  with  its  attendants,  peace  and  abundance.  The  religious  edifices 
erected  under  the  direction  of  the  Franciscan  fathers  could  rival  those  of 
Europe.  In  a  religious  pohit  of  view,  the  New  Mexicans  were  not  inferior  to 
their  Spanish  neighbors.  He  enumerates  more  than  twenty  existing  missions, 
each  averaging,  as  it  would  seem,  about  a  hundred  families. 

These  missions  all  continue  to  the  present  time  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions, and  several  are  still  directed  by  Catholic  missionaries,  although  Spain 
lost  her  power,  and  Mexico,  after  greatly  injuring  the  missions  by  her  plunder- 
ing laws,  finally  yielded  the  country  to  the  United  States.  Since  that  period 
New  Mexico  was  made  Vicariate  Apostolic,  and  finally  a  bishopric,  by  the 
erection  of  the  see  of  Santa  F6.  The  Right  Reverend  John  Lamy  in  his 
report  for  1S54,  estimates  the  Indian  Catholic  population  of  the  see  at  Sooo. 
They  are  generally  pious,  industrious,  peaceable,  and  instructed,  many  being 
able  to  read  and  write;  their  deputies  sent  to  Washington  compare  favorably 
with  those  of  the  most  civilized  tribes. 

"  The  Pueblo  or  half-civilized  Indians  of  this  territory,'*  says  a  govern- 
ment report,  "  are  in  a  satisfactory  condition  in  every  respect.  They  reside  in 
villages  situated  upon  grants  made  to  them  by  the  governments  of  Spain  and 
Mexico,  and  subsist  themselves  comfortably  by  cultivating  the  soil  and  rearing 
herds  and  flocks  of  various  kinds.  Each  tribe  or  pueblo  has  a  separate 
organized  goveriiment  of  its  own,  though  all  fashioned  after  the  same  model. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  l6i 

They  annually  elect  their  respective  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  and 
various  other  minor  officers.  Many  of  them  speak  the  Spanish  language  quite 
well,  and  they  usually  clothe  themselves  quite  comfortably,  often  in  cloth  of 
their  own  manufacture.  They  have  ceased  to  rely  upon  the  chase  for  a  sub- 
sistence, and  very  rarely  commit  depredations  upon  others,  but  are  orderly 
and  decorous  in  their  deportment.  Each  pueblo  or  village  has  its  church. 
When  disputes  arise  between  two  pueblos,  or  between  them  and  their  more 
civilized  neighbors,  the  matter  is  invariably  laid  before  the  governor,  and  his 
decision  is  invariably  regarded  as  final.  From  the  best  information  I  can 
gather,  these  pueblos  or  villages  number  about  twenty,  and  the  aggregate 
number  of  souls  may  be  set  down  at  from  8,000  to  10,000." 


Cbapteit  IX.. 


Canly  rnissions  in  California. 


VISITING  A  Neglected  Field.— Bravery  of  Father  King.— The  Black 
Gowns  sent  to  Exile.— Arrival  of  Father  Serra.— Founding  of  San  Diego. 
Mission. — Bad  Indians  are  Bad  Neighbors.— Attacks  on  The  Mission.-' 
Father  Jayme  Falls  a  Victim.— The  Deviltry  of  Californian  Redskins. 
—Planting  of  San  Francisco  and  Other  Settlements.— Plunder  and 
Ruin  of  the  Missions.— Dark  Days. 


rS  DETAILED  in  a  previous  chapter,  it  was  Cortes  himself,  the 
conqueror  of  Mexico,  who  discovered  the  peninsula  of  California, 
and  its  gulf  long  bore  his  name.  It  was,  however,  subsequently 
unnoticed  till  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  it  was  again 
visited;  and  in  1596,  Vizcaino  sailed  to  explore  the  coast,  accom- 
panied by  some  Franciscan  missionaries,  among  others  by  Father 
Perdomo,who  had,  as  we  have  seen  already,  traversed  Florida,  cross  in  hand. 
A  church  and  palisade  fort  were  thrown  up  at  Lapaz,  and  every  preparation 
was  made  for  a  permanent  settlement,  but  Indian  hostilities  soon  induced  the 
colonists  to  renounce  the  new  undertaking. 

On  a  second  expedition,  in  1601,  the  explorer  was  attended  by  three 
Carmelite  friars.  Fathers  Andrew  of  the  Assumption,  Anthony  of  the 
Ascension,  and  Thomas  of  Aquinas.  By  the  i6th  of  Deceniber  they  had 
reached   Santa  Barbara,   Monterey,  and  San   Francisco,  and    at    Monterey, 

Fathers  Andrew  and  Anthony  landed,  and,  raising  a  rustic  altar  beneath  the 

162 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  J63 

spreading  branches  of  a  time  honored  oak,  they  celebrated  the  divine  mys- 
teries of  our  faith.  This  may  be  considered  the  natal  day  of  the  Upper 
California  mission. 

This  portion  of  it,  however,  was  doomed  to  a  long  neglect ;  but  subse- 
quent voyagers  explored  and  surveyed  the  coast  of  the  peninsula,  which  was 
soon  visited  by  Franciscan  and  Jesuit  missionaries.  As  the  latter  here 
founded  a  celebrated  mission  which  led,  in  the  end,  to  Franciscan  missions  in 
Upper  California,  we  shall  glance  at  the  labors  of  the  Jesuits.  The  work  of 
the  famous  California  mission,  next  to  the  reductions  of  Paraguay,  the  great- 
est in  the  annals  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  was  first  inaugurated  by  Father 
Hyacinth  Cort(5s  in  1643,  being  thus  contemporaneous  with  the  Iroquois  and 
Apalachian  missions.  The  Jesuits  were  not  formally  sent  to  it,  however,  till 
1679,  and  even  then  four  years  elapsed  before  a  station  was  actually  founded 
by  the  enterprising  German,  Father  Eusebius  Kuhn,  or,  as  he  is  commonly 
called.  Kino.  His  mission,  moreover,  was  but  temporary;  two  years  later  the 
station  had  been  abandoned,  and  the  intrepid  Kuhn  was  laboring,  with  a  zeal 
truly  worthy  of  admiration,  among  the  Pimos  and  other  Indians  south  of  the 
Gila.  Fearless  by  nature  and  a  sense  of  duty,  he  went  alone  among  them, 
formed  them  into  villages,  prevailed  on  them  to  sow  their  lands  and  raise 
cattle.  The  Pimos  were  his  chief  care;  but  as  other  tribes  were  also  in  his 
district,  he  learned  several  languages,  and  translated  into  all  the  abridgment 
of  Christian  doctrine  and  the  usual  prayers;  he  likewise  composed  vocabu- 
laries and  graiTimatical  treatises  for  the  use  of  his  assistants  and  successors. 
In  these  toils  he  continued  till  his  death  in  17 10. 

Meanwhile,  Father  Salvatierra  founded,  at  Loretto,  in  1697,  the  first  per- 
manent mission  in  California.  From  that  point,  Christianity  gradually 
extended  to  the  north,  and  station  after  station  arose  where  the  Indians  were 
gathered  around  the  black- gowns  to  hear  the  words  of  truth.  These  con- 
quests over  idolatry  and  barbarism  were  not  achieved  without  loss,  and  the 
arid  soil  of  Lower  California  is  dyed  with  the  blood  of  heroic  missionaries; 
hut  undaunted  by  loss  of  life,  unbroken  by  defeat,  the  Jesuit  missionaries  of 
California  were  still  the  pioneers  of  civilization  and  the  faith,  when  the 
Spanish  king,  yielding  to  the  advice  of  unprincipled  men,  ordered  them  to  be 
torn,  in  a  single  day,  from  all  their  missions  throughout  his  wide  domains. 
At  that  time  Father  Wenceslaus  Link  was  continuing  the  explorations  of 
Kllhn — advancing  along  the  Pacific  to   Guiricata;    his  associates,  Victorian 


,64  TRIALS  AND  TKIUMrilS  OF  THE 

Ames  and  John  Joseph  Diez,  were  founding,  under  the  31st  parallel,  the  last 
Jesuit  mission  of  St.  Mary's,  the  limit  of  their  zeal  and  labors. 

Accused  of  no  crime,  condemned  without  a  trial,  the  missionaries  were 
dragged  from  amid  their  neophytes,  who  in  wonder,  grief,  and  consternation 
deplored  their  loss.  On  the  3rd  of  February,  176S,  every  Jesuit  was  carried 
off  a  prisoner  from  California. 

Unjust  as  the  government  had  been  to  the  Jesuits,  it  was  not  insensible 
to  the  claims  of  their  Indian  neophytes.  A  body  of  Franciscans  had  been 
ordered  to  enter  the  country  and  continue  the  good  work.  As  the  sixteen 
Jesuit  prisoners  landed  at  San  Bias,  twelve  Franciscans  and  four  secular 
priests  prepared  to  embark  on  the  same  vessel  to  fill  their  stations. 

Of  these  new  missionaries  the  leader  was  Father  Juniper  Serra,  a 
Majorcan,  already  well  trained  to  the  labors  of  an  Indian  mission  in  various 
parts  of  Mexico.  By  the  ist  of  April,  he  and  his  eleven  companions  (for  the 
Franciscans  always,  if  possible,  went  forth  in  companies  of  twelve),  reached 
Loretto,  the  center  of  the  Jesuit  mission. 

After  placing  priests  in  the  various  stations  occupied  by  his  predecessors. 
Father  Serra  began  carrying  into  effect  the  wish  of  the  government,  to  found 
three  missions  in  Upper  California — one  at  San  Carlos  de  Monterey  in  the 
north,  another  at  San  Diego  in  the  south,  and  a  third  at  San  Bonaventura  in 
the  middle  district.  Galvez,  then  visitor  for  the  king,  was  charged  with  the 
establishment  of  these  new  posts,  and  Father  Serra  at  once  named  friars  to 
begin  a  mission  at  each.  The  expedition  was  to  set  out  in  three  divisions, 
one  by  land  and  two  by  sea.  Of  the  latter,  the  first  sailed  in  January,  1765, 
i.iearing  Father  Ferdinand  Parron,  the  second  in  Februai-y,  with  Fathers 
John  Vizcaino  and  Francis  Gomez;  Serra  himself  accompanied  the  land  force, 
with  De  la  Campa  and  Lazven,  and  meeting  the  others  at  Vellicata,  founded 
there  with  much  ceremony,  the  mission  of  St.  Ferdinand,  leaving  Fatiier  de 
la  Campa  as  missionary,  with  a  number  of  Christian  Indians,  one-fifth  of  the 
live  stock,  and  a  supply  of  corn,  to  begin  a  reduction.  Before  the  expedition 
proceeded,  the  natives  had  begun  to  gather  around  and  enter  into  friendly 
relations  with  the  missionary  and  the  Christian  Indians  who  attended  him. 

Meanwhile  Father  Crespi,  with  a  portion  of  the  troops,  had  pushed  on 
to  San  Diego,  whither  Serra  soon  followed  him,  after  vainly  attempting  to 
reach  the  Colorado  as  Father  Link  had  done.  On  the  ist  of  July,  Serra 
reached  the  port  of  San  Diego,  and  found  there  not  only  Crespi,  but  Vizcaino, 
Parron,  and  Gomez,  who  had  come  by  sea  and  were  of  the  few  who  escaped 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  165 

the  diseases  which  had  broken  out  on  board.  The  mission  of  San  Diego  was 
now  founded  on  the  i6th  of  July,  1769,  on  tlie  banks  of  the  stream  of  that 
name,  and  in  a  long  and  narrow  valley,  formed  by  two  chains  of  parallel  hills, 
embosoming  a  delightful  prairie.  The  natives,  Comeyas,  were  apparently 
friendly,  and  everything  seemed  to  promise  speedy  success.  The  missionaries 
at  once  set  about  the  erection  of  two  buildings,  one  for  a  chapel,  the  other  for 
dwellings;  but  just  as  all  were  congratulating  themselves  on  the  prospects 
before  them,  the  house  was  attacked  by  the  Indians,  who  had  already  begun 
to  commit  depredations.  The  door  was  only  a  mat,  and  before  the  assailants 
could  be  repelled  a  boy  was  killed,  and  Father  Vizcaino,  with  four  others, 
wounded. 

Notwithstanding  this  act  of  violence,  amicable  relations  were  at  last 
established,  and  the  mission  continued  its  labors.  Crespi,  who  had  returned 
from  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  reach  Monterey,  now  set  out  with  a  new  ex- 
pedition by  sea,  as  Serra  did  with  another  by  land.  They  met  at  Monterey, 
in  1770,  and  founded  the  mission  of  San  Carlos,  leaving  the  usual  number  of 
Indians,  with  a  supply  of  cattle  and  a  guard  of  soldiers. 

When  the  news  of  the  establishment  of  these  missions  reached  the  city 
of  Mexico,  universal  joy  prevailed,  and  the  bells  rang  out  a  peal  of  triumph, 
as  for  the  conquest  of  a  realm.  Father  Serra  called  for  new  auxiliaries; 
thirty  were  chosen  by  the  superior  of  the  order  in  Mexico  to  go  and  till  the 
new  field ;  and,  amid  the  general  exultation,  the  sons  of  St.  Dominic  applied 
for  leave  to  enter  that  land  of  missions. 

Ten  of  the  Franciscans  were  intended  for  Upper  California,  and"these 
fathers,  reaching  San  Diego  in  March,  1771,  by  the  following  month  joined 
their  superior  in  the  beautiful  vegas  of  Carmel  at  Monterey.  The  feast  of 
Corpus  Christi  was  celebrated  soon  after,  with  a  pomp  such  as  the  wilderness 
had  never  seen;  twelve  priests  joined  in  the  sacred  procession  to  honor  that 
Real  Presence  which  is  the  center  of  Catholic  faith  and  worship. 

AftiT  this  holy  solemnity,  Sorra  proceeded  with  Father  Michael  I'icras 
and  Father  Bonaventure  Sitjar  to  a  beautiful  spot  on  the  river  San  Antonio, 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Sierra  Santa  Lucia,  where  a  towering  caiiada  encircles  the 
stream.  Here,  on  the  14th  of  July,  1771,  he  founded  the  mission  at  St. 
Anthony  of  Padua,  the  beloved  saint  of  the  Franciscans,  on  the  wide  grounds 
of  the  Telames.  Hanging  aloft  his  mission  bells,  the  enthusiastic  Serra  tollcil 
them  till  the  ravine  rang  again,  while  he  shouted  aloud  his  invitation  to  tlu^ 
natives  to  come  and  sit  down  in  peace  beneath  the  cross  he  had  planted. 


,66  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Of  THE 

A  house  and  chapel  were  soon  raised  for  the  missionaries,  with  barracks 
for  the  soldiers,  and  tlie  whole  was  encircled  by  a  palisade.  Difficulties  at 
first  threatened  the  new  mission,  but  it  was  soon  in  a  way  of  prosperity. 

The  next  undertaking  of  Father  Serra  was  the  removal  of  the  Monterey 
mission,  which  he  began,  after  sending  Father  Francis  Dumetz  and  Luis 
Jayme  to  San  Diego  to  replace  the  missionaries  there,  who  both  sought  to 
retire;  as  they  actually  did  on  the  arrival  of  their  successors.  Monterey 
labored  under  the  disadvantage  of  a  want  of  water  for  the  cattle  and  for 
irrigation.  Selecting  a  site  on  the  banks  of  a  little  stream  not  far  from  the 
little  bay  of  Carmel,  on  the  3d  of  June,  1770,  he  founded  the  mission  of  Mt. 
Carmel,  hemmed  in  by  the  mountains.  His  mission  cross  was  planted  on  that 
day,  and  before  the  close  of  the  next  year  his  chapel  and  buildings  were  all 
completed. 

The  next  mission  to  be  founded  was  that  of  San  Gabriel,  to  commence 
which  Father  Angelo  Somera  and  Father  Peter  Benedict  Cambon  set  out  in 
August,  1770.  With  a  guard  of  ten  soldiers  they  reached  the  Rio  de  los 
Temblores,  and  were  selecting  a  place  to  plant  the  cross  when  the  Indians 
rushed  down  upon  them.  In  this  moment  of  danger  the  missionaries  unfurled 
the  banner  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  as  its  azure  folds  opened  before  the 
eyes  of  the  astonished  natives,  and  the  radiant  form  of  Our  Lady  met  their 
eyes,  they  threw  down  their  arms,  and  timidly  approached  to  offer  her  all 
they  had  as  propitiatory  presents.  Peace  being  thus  wonderfully  established, 
the  good  fathers  planted  the  cross  at  the  foot  of  a  sierra,  on  a  magnificent 
plain  near  three  Indian  villages.  The  first  Mass  was  said  on  the  8th  of  Sep- 
tember, and  buildings  were  soon  erected ;  but  new  troubles  arose.  These 
missions  were  always  attended,  as  we  have  seen,  by  a  few  soldiers,  generally 
most  unfit  companions  for  the  missionary  of  peace.  Among  those  at  St. 
Gabriel  was  one  whose  brutal  violence  roused  an  injured  husband  to  vengeance. 
The  Indians  rose  in  arms,  the  house  was  attacked;  but  when  the  unfoitunate 
leader  of  the  natives  was  shot  down  by  a  ball  from  his  oppressor's  musket, 
the  rest  fled.  The  guilty  man  was  now  driven  from  the  mission,  and  the 
Indians  at  last  were  appeased.  Fathers  Somera  and  Cambon  now  began  to 
suffer  from  the  climate,  and,  as  soon  as  their  health  permitted,  retired  to  old 
California,  leaving  in  their  place  Fathers  Antonio  Paterna  and  Antonio 
Cruzado,  who,  on  their  way  to  the  site  selected  for  the  mission  of  St.  Bona- 
venture,  had  accompanied  them  to  St.  Gabriel. 

The  missions  thus  established  relied  at  first  on  the  supplies  brought  from 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  I67 

Mexico,  and  in  a  short  time  want  pressed  heavily  on  them.  This  was 
especially  the  case  at  San  Diego,  so  that  one  of  the  missionaries,  Father 
Dumetz,  proceeded  to  Old  California  for  relief.  When  Serra  knew  their 
distress  he  recalled  Father  Crespi  to  Monterey  and  sent  him  with  provisions 
to  San  Diego,  to  relieve  the  laborious  Father  Jayme. 

Father  Dumetz  presently  returned  with  material  aid  and  also  three  new 
missionaries.  With  this  reinforcement  the  unwearied  superior  resolved  to 
found  a  new  mission,  that  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  on  a  knoll  in  a  beautiful  plain^ 
sheltered  by  low  wooded  hills,  and  well  watered,  as  well  as  easy  of  access 
from  the  sea.  The  mission  cross  was  planted  on  the  ist  of  September,  1772, 
and  a  church  and  barracks  were  immediately  begun. 

After  laying  out  the  ground  for  the  mission  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  dis- 
patching the  laborious  Crespi  with  Father  Dumetz  to  Monterey,  he  proceeded 
to  Mexico,  where  a  change  of  governors,  and  various  matters  connected  with 
the  missions,  required  his  presence. 

The  Dominicans,  as  we  have  seen,  had  sought  to  obtain  the  California 
mission;  the  Franciscans  offered  to  retire,  but  it  was  finally  divided  between 
them.  All  the  old  Jesuit  missions  in  Old  California,  with  San  Ferdinand  of 
Vellicata,  were  assigned  to  the  Dominicans,  and  the  Franciscans  retained 
only  those  which  their  own  zeal  had  founded  in  the  upper  province.  These 
were  now  to  receive  a  new  impulse  from  the  accession  of  missionaries  whom 
Father  Palou  brought  from  the  peninsula,  and  from  the  aid  which  Father 
Serra  sent  from  Mexico,  just  before  his  return  in  May,  1774. 

While  some  of  these  fathers  accompanied  expeditions  sent  to  explore 
the  coast,  Fathers  Lazven  and  Gregory  Amurro  were  dispatched,  in  October, 
to  begin  between  San  Diego  and  San  Gabriel  the  mission  of  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano.  The  commencement  of  this  mission  seemed  to  promise  great  success, 
when  it  was  abandoned,  and  the  bells  and  less  portable  objects  buried,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  news  of  a  startling  scene  that  had  transpired  at  San  Diego. 

In  November,  1775,  the  two  missionary  fathers,  Jayme  and  Vincente 
Fuster,  were  rejoicing  in  the  success  of  their  labors  at  the  last-named  mission, 
which,  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  native  Comeyas  more  easily,  they  had 
removed  from  the  fort,  when  they  discovered  that  two  of  their  Christian 
Indians  had  suddenly  left.  Their  disappearance  surprised,  but  did  not  alarm 
the  missionaries,  who,  supposing  them  to  have  taken  umbrage  at  something 
said  or  done,  sent  messengers  to  recall  them;  but  it  was  not  such  a  trifle  as 
they  too  hastily  supposed.     These  men  had  gone  forth  to  rouse  their  country- 


l68  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Of  THE  ' 

men  to  destroy  the  missionaries.  Baptized  they  had  been,  they  declared,  but 
by  force;  and  the  sacrament  was  but  a  means  to  effect  their  annihilation. 

This  idea  of  baptism  we  shall  find  in  the  sequel  in  almost  every  tribe, 
and  from  its  universality  can  be  ascribed  only  to  him,  whose  power  was  to  be 
overthrown  by  the  fulfillment  of  the  command  once  given  to  a  few  humble 
men,  "  Go  and  baptize  all  nations."  Not  less  credulous  to  the  words  of  the 
tempter  than  the  Indians  by  the  northern  lakes,  the  Californians  crowded 
around  the  apostates.  A  thousand  braves  resolved  to  attack  the  mission  and 
fort,  and  commit  them  to  the  flames,  when  the  inmates  shall  have  sunk  under 
their  murderous  arms.  On  the  night  of  the  4th  of  November  they  advanced 
noiselessly  to  the  ravine  where  the  mission  lay,  for  the  good  friars  had  with- 
drawn to  some  distance  from  the  fort  to  avoid  the  untoward  influence  always 
exercised  by  a  band  of  soldiers.  Here  the  hostile  army  divided ;  one  party 
marched  against  the  fort,  the  other  entered  the  mission  village,  and,  placing  a 
sentry  at  the  door  of  each  house,  pressed  on  to  the  church,  whose  furniture 
and  decorations  promised  a  splendid  booty.  A  part,  however,  turned  off  to 
assail  the  house  occupied  by  the  missionaries  and  by  a  few  Spaniards,  and, 
approaching  unobserved,  set  it  on  fire.  Awakened  by  the  flames  and  .yells, 
tne  soldiers  ran  to  arms,  and,  with  Father  Vincent,  threw  themselves  into  an 
adobe  kitchen.  Father  Louis  Jayme,  awakened  by  the  noise,  and  totally  un- 
prepared for  such  an  attack,  supposed  the  fire  accidental,  and  issued  from  the 
house  with  his  usual  salutation,  "  Love  God,  my  children."  He  was  at  once 
seized  by  the  Indians,  dragged  through  the  deepest  part  of  the  neighboring 
stream,  stripped,  and  killed  with  arrows  and  blows  from  their  swords  of 
hardened  wood,  which  cut  almost  like  iron.  When  found,  his  body  was  so 
hacked  and  mangled  as  to  defy  recognition — the  hands  alone  being  untouched. 

The  attack  on  the  kitchen  was  kept  up  till  daybreak,  when  the  Indians, 
fearing  a  charge  from  the  fort,  drew  off  and  enabled  Father  Vincent  and  his 
companions  to  reach  that  place  of  refuge. 

This  was  a  terrible  check  to  the  missions,  and  many  wished  to  abandon 
San  Diego  and  some  other  stations  entirely.  No  such  thoughts,  however, 
were  entertained  by  the  missionaries.  Words  of  joy  welcomed  the  announce- 
ment of  the  death  of  Jaymc.  "Thank  God,  that  field  is  watered!"  exclaimed 
the  intrepid  Prefect  Serra,  as  he  proceeded,  though  in  broken  health,  to  rouse 
the  civil  authorities  to  courage.  But  the  letters  he  obtained  from  the  latter 
miscarried,  and  when,  in  September,  he  attempted  to  rebuild  the  mission  of 
San  Diego,  Rivera,  the  commandant,  ordered   him  to  desist.     The  prefect 


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CATHOLIC  CHCRCH  IS  AMERICA  l6g 

obeyed  without  a  murmur,  but  a  change  of  authorities  soon  enabled  him  to 
realize  his  plan,  and  San  Diego  arose  from  its  ruins.  As  soon  as  he  saw  it  in 
progress  he  hurried  with  Fathers  Mugartegui  and  Amurro  to  San  Capistrano. 
Here  he  found  the  cross  still  standing;  and  this  admirable  man,  unbroken  by 
toil,  undaunted  by  danger,  hastened,  almost  alone,  amid  hostile  tribes,  to  San 
Gabriel  to  obtain  the  necessary  articles. 

This  last  mission  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  plain,  a  league  from  the  sea, 
on  the  banks  of  a  little  river  which  never  fails,  even  in  the  greatest  drought. 
The  people,  among  whom  it  was  established,  were  called  the  Acagchemem 
nation,  and  of  them  we  have,  in  a  work  of  Father  Boscana,  a  later  missionary, 
a  fuller  account  than  we  possess  of  any  other  tribe  in  California.  No  portion 
of  the  continent  contained,  in  the  same  compass,  tribes  so  variant  in  language 
ancf  consequently  in  race. 

All  the  Californian  tribes  resemble,  in  general  manners  and  customs,  the 
Indians  of  other  parts  of  the  republic.  Ignorant  of  the  use  of  metals,  they 
relied  on  hunting  and  fishing  for  a  sustenance:  agriculture,  even  in  its  rudest 
form,  being  almost  unknown,  and  seeds  and  herbs  the  only  production  used 
by  them.  The  men  went  naked,  or  wore  a  cloak  of  skins  over  the  shoulders; 
the  women,  and  even  the  youngest  female  children,  wore  a  kind  of  apron 
of  fringe,  and  were  never  known  to  lay  aside  this  badge  of  modesty ;  many, 
too,  wore  a  kind  of  cloak  reaching  from  the  neck  to  the  knees.  The  most 
advanced  tribes  were  those  between  Santa  Barbara  and  Monterey;  these 
Indians  were  skillful  fishermen,  and  showed  great  dexterity  in  the  use  of  their 
well-made  canoes,  and  in  a  money  made  of  shells,  like  the  wampum  of  the 
eastern  tribes,  carried  on  a  thriving  commerce. 

The  tribe  among  whom  the  mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano  was  founded 
were  the  Acagchemem.  Their  religious  ideas  are  easily  described.  Consider- 
ing heaven  and  earth  as  the  first  of  beings,  they  peopled  the  universe  with  a 
monster  progeny,  which  issued  from  them,  and  which  disappeared  before 
Chinigchinich,  "  the  Almighty,"  who  created  man  and  the  animals.  This 
being  was  the  object  of  their  worship.  To  him  they  raised  temples,  and  in 
them  placed  the  skin  of  a  coyote,  or  wild-cat,  filled  with  feathers,  claws, 
horns,  and  similar  parts  of  various  birds  and  beasts.  The  worship,  directed  by 
priests  or  puplem,  consisted  of  various  dances  and  ceremonies,  in  which  little 
trace  of  sacrifice  can  be  discovered.  Their  belief  in  witchcraft,  their  medicine- 
men anil  jugglery,  their  various  dances,  are,  in  the  main,  such  as  are  fouinl  in 
almost  every  American  tribe. 


ijo  TRIALS  ASD    TIUVMl'lIS   OF    THE 

Having  established  anew  the  mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  the 
active  Sei  ra  projected  that  of  San  Francisco.  An  expedition  had  been  sent 
from  Sonora  by  land  to  commence  a  settlement  at  that  bay,  and  was  attended 
by  Father  Font  as  chaplain.  Fathers  Palou  and  Cambon  joined  it,  as  mission- 
aries, tofound  astation  at  ;he  new  settlement,  and  Fathers  Murgiiia  and  Pcfia 
to  begin  another  mission,  under  the  patronage  of  Santa  Clara,  in  its  vicinity. 

The  mission  of  San  Francisco  was  really  inaugurated  in  a  rustic  chapel, 
on  the  27th  of  June,  1776,  and  the  country  around  that  beautiful  bay  explored 
by  the  intrepid  missionaries.  The  legal  organization  of  the  missions  was 
delayed  by  the  inactivity  of  the  commandant  Rivera,  to  whom  they  were 
obliged  to  recur  for  supplies  and  for  the  usual  guard.  Santa  Clara  was  in 
consequence  not  begun  till  the  6th  of  January,  1777,  when  that  mission  arose 
on  the  charming  plains  of  San  Bernardino. 

The  missions  thu->  established  in  Upper  California  differed  essentially 
from  those  planted  in  the  other  sections  of  our  republic.  Here  it  was  not  a 
single  missionary,  venturing  alone  into  a  distant  land,  facing  every  danger 
from  the  elements,  the  wild  beasts,  or  the  untamed  child  of  the  forest;  the 
missionary  went  to  his  station  attended  by  a  small  guard,  with  a  colony  of 
Indian  converts,  herds  of  cattle,  and  a  plentiful  supply  of  agricultural  and 
other  implements.  Around  this  nucleus  of  converted  Intlians,  others  soon 
gathered;  buildings  were  erected,  the  new-comers  formed  to  habits  of  in- 
dustry, and  instructed  in  the  doctrines  of  Christianity.  As  many  of  the  mis- 
sionaries were  ingenious  in  mechanical  arts,  the  Indians  were  formed  to  every 
trade,  and  each  mission  yearly  sent  off  its  cargoes  of  surplus  products  and 
manufactures,  to  receive  in  return  the  necessary  European  goods.  This  pros- 
perity constantly  attracted  new-comers,  who  were  in  time  trained  to  the  life 
of  the  mission.  The  wealth  of  these  missions,  a  few  years  since,  shows  how 
great  the  progress  of  the  Indians  had  been. 

Father  Serra,  the  Prefect  Apostolic,  had  now  founded  a  goodly  number 
of  missions,  which  began  to  bear  fruit.  Baptisms  had  become  numerous, 
the  new  converts  had  swelled  the  village  at  each  mission,  and  peace,  order, 
and  prosperity  had  begun  their  reign.  That  the  neophytes  might  not  be  de- 
prived of  the  sacrament  of  confirmation,  the  Holy  See,  on  the  i6th  of  June, 
1774,  issued  a  bull  conferring  on  the  Prefect  Apostolic  the  power  of  administer- 
mg  it,  and  this  privilege  he  exercised,  though  for  a  time  prevented  by  gov- 
ernment from  doing  so. 

Under   his  care   the  missions  henceforth  grew  and  prospered ,  the  only 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  I71 

affliction  they  suffered  being  tlie  loss  of  the  veteran  Father  Crespi,  who  died 
at  Monterey  on  the  ist  of  January,  17S2,  after  a  missionary  career  of  thirty 
years,  fourteen  of  which  had  been  spent  in  California. 

But  if  prosperity  and  success  smiled  on  the  missions  from  San  Diego  to 
San  Francisco,  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  a  new  mission  attempted  about 
this  time.  The  power  exercised  by  the  missionaries  over  the  converted 
Indians  in  the  reductions,  the  management  of  the  property,  which  they  kept 
in  their  own  hands,  and  the  kind  of  tutelage  in  which  the  new  Christians  were 
held,  had  drawn  great  odium  on  the  Jesuits.  The  Franciscans,  nevertheless, 
had  continued  the  system,  being  convinced  of  its  expediency.  Not  so  the 
government,  which  wished  to  justify  its  charges  against  the  suppressed  order. 
A  new  mission  was  therefore  to  be  formed,  in  which  the  fathers  were  to 
confine  their  labors  to  the  spiritual  instruction  of  the  Indians,  leaving  their 
civilization  and  temporal  advancement  in  the  hands  of  those  whom  interest, 
zeal, orambition  might  induce  to  attempt  it.  Four  missionaries  from  the  Fran- 
ciscan  college  of  the  Holy  Cross  of  Queretaro  accordingly  joined  the  captain- 
general,  and  by  his  orders  founded  two  missions  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Colorado  above  its  mouth;  one  under  the  invocation  of  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul,  the  other  three  leagues  further  south  under  that  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  and  both  intended  for  the  conversion  of  the  Yumas,  who  were 
the  nearest  tribe. 

Matters  went  on  slowly ;  the  soldiers,  as  colonists,  chose  the  fairest  lands, 
and  the  ejected  Indians,  deprived  of  their  crops,  began  ere  long  to  covet  the 
flocks  of  the  invaders.  The  missionaries,  whose  duty  led  them  daily  to  the 
villages  of  the  Yumas,  saw  the  danger,  and  in  vain  endeavored  to  excite  their 
countrymen  to  measures  of  conciliation.  Vengeance  was  not  long  delayed. 
One  Sunday  in  July,  after  Mass,  the  Indians,  to  the  number  of  several  thou- 
sands, simultaneously  attacked  both  missions,  set  fire  to  them,  and  killed 
Rivera,  the  commander,  and  his  soldiers,  with  most  of  the  settlers.  The 
missionaries  hurried  aroinul  to  exercise  their  ministry,  confessing,  exhorting, 
encouraging,  till  they,  too,  were  cut  down.  The  four  missionaries  who  per- 
ished here  were  Father  John  Diaz  and  Father  Matthew  Morena,  whose 
bodies  were  found  amid  the  ruins  of  their  mission,  and  Father  Francisco 
Garccs  and  John  Barraneche,  of  the  province  of  Florida,  whose  bodies, 
interred  by  an  old  woman,  were  recovered  some  time  after.  Of  these.  Father 
Garces  deserves  especial  notice  as  a  successful  ami  adventurous  missioner,  who 
had  extended  his  excursions  to  Ujiper  California,  and  traversed  much  of  the 


172  TRIALS  .1X1)  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

country  north  of  the  Colorado,  so  that,  adapting  himself  to  Indian  life,  he  had 
become  as  one  of  the  natives.  Yet  loved  as  he  was,  the  Yumas  did  not  spare 
him  in  the  general  massacre. 

The  missions  already  founded  did  not  satisfy  the  boundless  zeal  of  the 
prefect,  the  venerable  Serra.  He  died  in  17S4,  planning  new  foundations, 
and  still  eager  to  plant  the  cross  in  parts  as  yet  unvisited.  Ten  missions  were 
already  established,  and  about  ten  thousand  Indians  had  been  baptized. 
Among  the  enterprising  men  who  have  attempted  the  conversion  of  the 
Indians,  few  deserve  a  higher  place  than  Father  Juniper  Serra.  Nothing  is 
more  admirable  than  the  courage  he  displayed  in  the  effort  to  civilize  the 
barbarous  tribes,  amid  whom  his  charity  had  called  him.  If  he  had  not  the 
heroic  sanctity  of  earlier  missionaries,  his  steady  development  of  the  Jesuit 
plan  of  missions,  his  constant  attention,  assiduous  labor,  and  prudence  in 
government,  often  amid  factious  opposition,  entitle  him  to  the  highest  place 
among  illustrious  missionaries.  Nor  was  he  wanting  in  deep  and  tender 
piety.  When  an  Indian  child  that  he  was  about  to  baptize  was  taken  fiom 
his  arms,  he  was  deeply  moved.  "  The  feelings  of  the  venerable  father, 
seeing  the  baptism  of  this  child  so  frustrated,  were  such,"  says  Palou,  "  that 
for  many  days  the  sorrow  and  pain  which  he  suffered  might  be  discovered  in 
his  countenance — the  good  father  attributing  the  conduct  of  the  Indians  to 
his  own  sins;  and  many  years  afterwards,  when  he  related  this  circumstance, 
his  eyes  were  suffused  with  tears."  His  death  was  as  calm  as  his  life.  Sink- 
ing under  a  malady  of  the  lungs,  he  continued  his  labors,  visiting  the  missions, 
administering  confirmation,  and  regulating  everything,  till,  finding  his  death 
at  hand,  he  sent  for  the  nearest  fathers  to  come  and  take  leave  of  him.  In 
August  he  sank  gr.idually,  but  still  kept  up  and  recited  his  office,  though  pre- 
paring to  die.  On  the  27th  of  that  month  he  directed  Father  Palou  to  conse- 
crate a  host,  and  give  him  the  holy  Viaticum.  In  the  course  of  the  same  d.iy 
he  ordered  his  coffin,  and  received  the  sacrament  of  extreme  unction  on  his 
bed — a  mat  stretched  over  a  board.  The  next  day,  August  28,  17S4,  he  was 
up  again  and  cheerful,  but  presently  retiring  to  his  har^l  couch,  lay  down  and 
expired  without  a  struggle  or  a  sigh,  at  the  age  of  71.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  a  beautiful  monument  was  raised  to  his  memory  in  1S91  by  Mrs.  Leland 
Stanford,  the  Protestant  wife  of  a  present  U.  S.  senator  from  California. 
Father  Serra  had  been  a  true  apostle  among  the  wandering  tribes  of  the 
Sierra  Gorda,  and  he  toiled  for  years  to  gain  these  poor  souls  to  Christ.  He 
was  a  holy  spiritual  guide. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  I73 

"  He  tried  each  art,  reproved  each  dull  delay, 
Allured  to  brighter  worlds,  and  led  the  way." 

It  is  said  that  in  order  to  give  his  simjile,  dusky  flock  a  good  example, 
he  made  it  a  custom  to  go  to  confession  in  the  presence  of  the  people.  It  was 
at  the  very  time  when  the  fathers  of  this  republic  were  drafting  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  that  the  mission  was  founded  at  San  Francisco  by  his 
order  on  the  27th  of  June,  1776.  "San  Francisco,"  says  a  western  writer, 
"has  this,  at  least,  to  boast  .of — that  tlie  first  building  erected  within  it,  was 
dedicated  to  God's  worship  under  the  patronage  of  Saint  Francis." 

On  the  death  of  Father  Serra,  his  future  biographer,  Father  Palou,  was 
appointed  Prefect  Apostolic;  but  before  we  enter  on  the  history  of  his 
administration,  we  shall  describe  these  missions  as  they  then  existed,  for 
though  the  California  mission  began  about  the  period  of  the  American  revo- 
lution, and  attained  a  wonderful  degree  of  prosperity,  it  is  now  almost  as 
much  a  matter  of  the  past,  as  the  Iroquois  or  Huron  missions  in  the  north. 

A  rectangular  building,  eighty  or  ninety  yards  in  front,  and  about  as 
deep,  composed  the  mission.  In  one  end  was  the  church  and  parsonage.  The 
interior  was  a  large  and  beautiful  court,  adorned  with  trees  and  fountains, 
sinrounded  by  galleries,  on  which  opened  the  rooms  of  the  missionaries, 
stewards,  and  travelers,  the  shops,  schools,  store-rooms,  etc.,  and  granary.  A 
part,  separated  off,  and  called  the  monastery,  was  reserved  for  the  Indian 
girls,  where  they  were  taught  by  native  women  to  spin  and  weave,  and 
received  such  other  instruction  as  was  suited  to  their  sex.  The  boys  learned 
trades,  and  those  who  excelled  were  promoted  to  the  rank  of  chiefs,  thus 
giving  a  dignity  to  labor  which  impelled  all  to  embrace  it. 

Each  mission  was  directed  by  two  friars;  one  of  whom  superintended  this 
mission  building  and  the  religious  instruction,  the  other  the  field-labors, in  which 
he  always  took  part,  teaching  cotisilio  fnanuquc,  to  use  their  own  expression 
— by  advice  and  example.  How  well  they  succeeded  we  may  judge  by  the 
results  which  they  obtained  and  by  the  affection  of  the  Indians.  Those  who, 
but  a  few  years  since,  visited  these  missions,  were  amazed  to  see  that  with 
such  petty  resources,  most  frequently  without  the  aid  of  the  white  mechanics, 
with  Indian  workmen  alone,  they  accomplished  so  much,  not  only  in  agricul- 
ture, but  in  architecture  and  mechanics — in  mills,  machines,  bridges,  roads, 
canals  for  irrigation — and  accomplished  it  only  by  transforming  hostile  and 
indolent  savages  into  Laborious  carpenters,  masons,  coopers,  s.addlers,  shoe- 
makers, weavers,  stone-cutters,  brick-makers,  and  lime-burners. 


,74  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

The  discipline  was  indeed  severe,  and  the  whole  establishment  conducted 
like  some  large  factory.  This  has  excited,  in  modern  times,  great  outcry ; 
but  the  missions  have  been  abolished,  and  the  Indians  left  to  the  "  enlightened" 
men  of  our  day.  Under  their  care  the  Indians  have  perished  like  smoke  tje- 
fore  the  wind,  and  men  now  sigh  for  the  missions. 

Around  the  mission  building  rose  the  houses  of  the  Indians  and  of  a 
few  white  settlers;  at  various  distances  were  ranches  or  hamlets,  each  with 
its  succursal  chapel.  In  a  little  building  by  the  mission  was  a  picket  of  five 
horsemen,  half  soldiers,  half  couriers. 

The  regulations  of  the  missions  were  uniform.  At  daybreak  the  Angelus 
summoned  all  to  the  church  for  prayers  and  Mass,  from  which  they  returned 
to  breakfast.  Then  all  joined  their  respective  bands,  and  proceeded  to  their 
regular  labor.  At  eleven  they  returned  to  dine,  and  rested  till  two,  when 
labor  recommenced  and  Lasted  till  the  Angelus,  which  was  rung  an  hour  be- 
fore sunset.  After  prayers  and  the  beads,  they  supped  and  spent  the  evening  in 
innocent  amusements.  Their  food  was  the  fresh  beef  and  mutton  plentifully 
supplied  by  their  flocks,  cakes  of  wheat  and  Indian,  with  peas,  beans,  and 
such  other  vegetables  as  they  chose  to  raise. 

The  dress  of  the  men  was  a  shirt,  trousers,  and  blanket,  though  the 
alcalde  and  chiefs  of  gangs  of  workmen  wore  frequently  the  complete 
Spanish  dress.  The  dress  of  the  women  was  the  usual  one,  with  the  in- 
variable blanket.  When  the  crops  were  harvested,  each  mission  sold  or 
shipped  its  breadstuffs,  wine,  oil,  hemp  and  cordage,  hides  and  tallow,  and 
from  the  returns  distributed  to  the  Indians  clothes,  handkerchiefs,  tobacco,  and 
other  articles.  The  surplus  was  spent  in  the  purchase  of  necessaries  for  the  mis- 
sion, furniture  for  the  church  or  the  houses, implements  of  agriculture,  tools, etc. 

Besides  the  funds  thus  resulting  from  their  own  labors,  the  Indians  en- 
joyed the  revenue  of  a  portion  of  the  "  Pious  fund,"  which  had  been  be- 
stowed by  charitable  persons  on  the  old  Jesuit  mission:  the  missionaries, 
bound  by  vows  of  poverty,  receiving  only  food  and  clothing. 

The  Indians  of  a  mission  were  not  all  of  the  same  tribe,  but  perfect 
harmony  prevailed,  and  when  the  season  of  work  was  over,  many  paid  visits 
to  their  countrymen,  and  seldom  returned  alone.  Sometimes  a  zealous 
Christian  would  visit  his  own  tribe  as  an  apostle,  to  announce  the  happiness 
enjoyed  under  the  mild  rule  of  the  gospel.  In  this  way  the  missions  con- 
stantly received  new  accessions,  for  the  good  friars  had  the  art  of  making 
labor  attractive. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  175 

The  good  fruits  anrl  discipline  of  tlic  missions  are  thus  confessed  in  a 
narrative  written  by  United  States  Commissioner  Bartlett: 

"Five  thousand  Indians  were  at  one  time  collected  at  the  mission  of  St. 
Gabriel.  They  are  represented  to  have  been  sober  and  industrious,  well 
clothed  and  fed;  and  seem  to  have  experienced  as  high  a  state  of  happiness 
as  they  are  adapted  by  nature  to  receive.  These  five  thousand  Indians  con- 
stituted a  large  family,  of  which  the  padres  were  the  social,  religious,  and  we 
might  also  say  political  heads.  Living  thus,  this  vile  and  degraded  race  began 
to  learn  some  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  civilized  life.  The  institution 
of  marriage  began  to  be  respected  and  blessed  by  the  rites  of  religion,  grew 
to  be  so  much  considered,  that  deviations  from  its  duties  were  somewhat 
Tmfrequent  occurrences.  The  girls,  on  their  arrival  at  the  age  of  puberty, 
were  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  population,  and  taught  the  useful  arts  of 
sewing,  weaving,  carding,  etc.,  and  were  only  permitted  to  mingle  with  the 
population  when  they  had  assumed  the  character  of  wives." 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  Father  Palou  was  to  found  the  mission  of  Santa 
Barbara,  which  was  begun  on  the  -Ith  of  December,  1786,  at  the  foot  of  a 
chain  of  arid  mountains.  This  was  followed  on  the  8th  of  December,  1787, 
by  that  of  La  Purisima  Concepcion,  separated  from  that  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
by  a  beautiful  and  fertile  plain.  Soon  after,  in  1791,  the  mission  of  Santa 
Cruz,  near  Branciforte,  was  founded  in  August,  and  that  of  Nuestra  Scnora 
de  la  Solcdad  in  October,  in  a  delightful  cafion,  which  extends  to  Monterey. 
These  were  the  last  acts  of  Father  Palou's  administration;  for  it  is  said  that 
he  then  left  California,  and  became  superior  of  the  convent  of  San  Fernando, 
in  the  city  of  Mexico. 

Under  Father  Lazven,  who  was  the  next  prefect,  the  California  mission 
received  still  greater  development.  In  the  single  year  1797  he  founded  three 
missions — San  Jose,  San  Miguel,  and  San  Fernando  Rey.  The  first,  which 
dates  from  the  ISth  of  June,  is  at  the  foot  of  a  range  of  low  hills,  along  which 
runs  the  San  Joaquin.  Its  proximity  to  the  Tulares  enabled  this  mission  to 
collect  a  great  number  of  Indians,  and  it  was  soon  one  of  the  most  flourishing 
and  canuncrcial  in  all  California. 

San  Miguel  arose  on  the  2r)th  of  July,  in  a  beautiful  plain,  into  which 
several  mountain  gorges  enter,  giving  easy  access  to  other  missions,  while 
San  Fernando,  founded  on  the  feast  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
lay  nearer  San  Gabriel.     All  these  missions  prospered  greatly. 

The  next  mission  was  that  of  San  Luis  Rey  de  Francia,  which  arose  itj 


176  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  wilderness  at  a  time  when  Fiance  rejected  ahke  the  faith,  institutions,  and 
family  of  that  holy  king.  Its  founder,  the  illustrious  Father  Peyri,  raised  a 
thatched  cottage  by  the  beautiful  banks  of  the  San  Luis  on  the  feast  of  his 
patron,  Saint  Anthony  of  Padua,  in  the  year  179S.  A  few  cattle  and  some 
converted  Indians  were  all  that  he  asked  from  the  next  mission,  and  thus  he 
founded  San  Luis  Rey  among  the  Kechis.  From  this  feeble  commencement 
rose  the  greatest  of  the  Californian  reductions,  as  English,  French,  and 
American  writers  all  concur  in  asserting.  Its  church  of  stone  is  ninety 
feet  deep,  and  rises  at  one  end  in  a  beautiful  tower  and  dome;  and  from  its 
facade  extends  a  colonnade,  not  without  architectural  beauty,  and  nearly  five 
hundred  feet  long,  while  in  depth  it  is  almost  in  equal  dimensions.  Father 
Peyri  was  not  only  an  architect,  but  also  an  able  mission-director.  He  soon 
had  3,500  Indian  converts,  scattered  in  twenty  ranches,  and  the  whole  place 
bore  marks  of  industry,  and  consequently  of  peace  and  plenty. 

Spain  now  began  to  reel  under  the  effects  of  the  French  revolution; 
and  the  distracted  state  of  the  mother  country  and  the  colonies  materially 
affected  the  missions,  which  were  in  a  great  measure  left  to  their  own  re- 
sources. For  several  years  their  funds  came  very  irregularly,  but  the  Indians, 
who  relied  chiefly  on  their  own  labor,  suffered  no  loss,  and  the  only  difficulty 
was  that  new  missions  could  not  be  undertaken ;  and  the  weakness  of  the 
government  seemed  to  offer  an  opportunity  to  the  savage  tribes  to  burst  on 
these  frontier  stations. 

Amid  this  period  of  trial  Father  Lazven  died  in  1S03,  at  his  mission  of 
Carmel,  where  he  was  interred.  His  successor  founded  the  mission  of  Santa 
Inez  in  the  following  year,  on  a  beautiful  prairie  embosomed  in  the  hills — a 
perfect  garden  of  fertility.  In  1S17  the  missionaries  resumed  their  activity, 
and  Father  Ventura  Fortuni  founded  the  mission  of  San  Rafael  among  the 
Jouskiousm^,  and  the  prefect,  Father  Mariano  Payeras,  proposed  to  the 
Spanish  king  to  establish  a  presidio  at  Telame,  and  missions  running  in  a  line 
from  San  Luis  Rey  lo  San  Jos^,  but  the  power  of  Spain  in  the  western 
world  was  already  tottering,  and  the  project  was  abaridoned. 

Left  to  their  own  resources,  the  missionaries  did  not  falter;  they  steadily 
advanced  the  faith,  and  in  August,  1823,  Father  Amoros  began  the  mission 
of  San  Francisco  Solano  among  the  Guilucos,  the  most  northerly  and  last  of 
all  those  religious  establishments  which  now  lie  in  ruins,  and  the  only  one 
that  dates  from  the  period  of  the  Mexican  republic.    The  same  father  did, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  177 

indeed,  attempt  another  in  1S27,  but  the  little  chapel  of  Saint  Rose  was  all 
that  he  could  accomplish. 

Echandia,  the  first  governor  sent  by  the  Mexican  republic  to  California, 
arrived  in  1824.  Our  historian,  Robinson,  calls  him  "the  scourge  of  Califor- 
nia, an  instigator  of  vice,  who  sowed  seeds  of  dishonor  not  to  be  extirpated 
while  a  mission  remains  to  be  robbed."  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  interfere 
in  the  established  plan  of  the  missions,  and  attempt  to  take  all  temporal  direc- 
tion from  the  missionaries.  The  latter  opposed  this  invasion  of  the  rights  of 
their  Indians,  who  they  clearly  foresaw  were  doomed  to  destruction  if  left  to 
the  mercy  of  the  agents  of  government.  Echandia  persisted  in  his  plan  ol 
pillage,  drove  out  the  fearless  Martinez,  and  loaded  with  ill  treatment  Father 
Sanchez,  the  prefect  or  president  of  the  missions,  so  that  the  venerable  man, 
after  struggling  for  years  against  the  oppressors  of  his  forest  children,  died  of 
grief  in  1831,  consoled  in  his  last  moments  by  the  conduct  of  the  upright 
Don  Manuel  Victoria,  who  for  a  few  months  restored  the  missions.  But  that 
excellent  governor  was  soon  removed  and  the  plunder  recommenced.  Father 
Antonio  Peyri,  a  man  of  energy  and  capacity,  and  though  advanced  in  years, 
still  hale  and  able  to  maintain  his  rights,  became  peculiarly  obnoxious.  He 
was  driven  from  his  mission  of  San  Luis  Rey,  which  he  had  founded  and 
directed  with  adinirable  skill  for  thirty-four  years.  The  entreaties  and  tears 
of  his  neophytes  could  not  obtain  his  continuance,  and  as  he  tore  himself 
from  his  flock  to  embark  for  Mexico,  tears  streamed  down  his  aged  cheeks. 
For  years  after  the  Indians  preserved  a  painting  which  represented  Father 
Peyri  amid  his  neophytes,  and  frequently  came  to  recite  their  prayers  before 
that  elTigy  of  him  who  had  first  led  them  to  a  knowledge  of  God,  and  when 
he  finally  proceeded  to  Barcelona,  every  stranger  was  eagerly  ([uestioned  for 
titlitigs  of  their  beloved  guide,  and  heard  them  speak  with  sighs  of  their 
happy  st.ite  when  directed  by  his  paternal  hand.  Such  is  the  testimony  of 
Forbes  and  Robinson  in  1835,  of  Dutlot  de  Mofras  in  1S40,  and  even  of 
Bartlett  in  1853. 

At  San  Luis  Obispo,  Father  Martinez  had  formed  his  flock  to  industry: 
they  wove  and  dyed  ordinary  cloth  and  fine  cotton  fabrics,  which  would  soon 
have  made  them  a  prosperous  and  happy  colony,  even  amid  the  increasing 
whites,  but  he  was  brutally  expelled.  Five  other  fathers  were  driven  from 
other  missions  and  a  regular  system  of  robbery  commenced,  ranch  after  ranch 
was  taken,  cattle  swept  off,  and  the  Indians,  seduced  from  their  labors  by 
Echandia,  the  governor,  were  so  inflamed  against  the  missionaries  that  they 


178  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

attempted  to  kill  Father  Cabot  at  San  Miguel.  At  the  view  of  his  misery, 
several  other  fathers,  exposed  to  ill  treatment  anil  persecution,  resolved  to 
leave  the  country,  where  some  had  spent  thirty  and  forty  years  in  civilizing 
the  Indians,  and  raising  them  to  a  state  of  ease  and  comfort  arid  plenty.  They 
departed  as  poor  as  they  had  lived,  for  they  lost  nothing:  it  was  tiicir  neo- 
phytes who  had  been  robbed.  The  number  of  missionaries  was  now  30  re- 
duced that  in  1S33  the  Mexican  government  applied  to  the  college  of  Our 
Lady  of  Guadalupe,  at  Zacatecas,  and  obtained  ten  missionaries  for  Califor- 
nia, who  took  the  richer  and  more  northerly  stations;  and  Father  Duran,  who 
had  just  succeeded  Father  Francisco  Garcia  Diego  as  prefect,  removed  to 
Santa  Barbara,  after  being  for  a  time  imprisoned  on  a  frivolous  charge. 

Meanwhile,  the  government  in  California  was  carrj'ing  on  the  work  of 
secularization  or  plunder,  and  the  year  1S34  '"'"^y  ^'c  considered  as  that  of  the 
complete  overthrow  of  the  missions,  although  it  was  not  till  1S37  that  it  was 
finally  and  officially  decreed  by  congress.  But  this  act  of  congress  was  as 
unnecessary  as  a  later  one,  in  1S40,  for  then  restoration  was  impossible:  the 
property  of  the  poor  Indians  was  already  in  the  hands  of  the  plunderers,  and 
there  was  no  power  to  wrest  it  from  them. 

The  mission  of  St.  Gabriel  had  its  vineyards  planted  by  Father  Jos^ 
Maria  Zalvidea,  which  already  produced  excellent  wine:  he  was  negotiating 
with  an  American  house  for  iron  fences.  All  around  was  activity,  industry, 
and  enterprise,  created  by  him;  for  his  ships,  loaded  with  the  products  of  the 
mission,  sailed  regularly  for  Lima  and  San  Bias;  but  neither  here  nor  at  San 
Juan  Capistrano,  also  under  his  care,  could  he  prevent  the  spoliation.  His 
vineyards  were  torn  up,  and  in  a  short  time  misery  usurped  the  place  of  plenty 
and  industry. 

At  this  period  the  missions  contained  30,650  Indians,  424,000  head  of  cat- 
tle, 62,500  horses,  321,500  sheep,  and  raised  annually  122,500  bushels  of 
wheat  and  maize.  This  property  was  now  handed  over  to  the  authorities, 
who  allotted  some  to  each  family.  Here  and  there,  a  missionary,  better  able 
to  struggle  with  intriguing  men,  saved  the  mission  buildings  and  the  live- 
stock given  to  his  neophytes,  but,  in  most  cases,  they  were  deprived  of  it  al- 
most immediately.  The  missionary  was  merely  allowed  rations  for  his  sup- 
port, and  these  were  often  never  sent.  Thus,  in  1S3S,  Father  Sarria,  of  whom 
an  American  says,  "  it  was  a  happiness  indeed  to  have  known  him,''  died  of 
hunger  and  wretchedness  at  his  mission  of  La  Soledad,  having  refused  to 
abandon  his  constantly  decreasing  flock.     Neither  his  age,  his  goodness,  his 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


179 


charity,  nor  gentle  character,  could  win  a  petty  living  on  the  spot  where 
thousands  had  enjoyed  his  hospitality.  One  day  in  August,  though  worn 
ilown  by  suffering  and  want,  he  gathered  his  flock  in  the  church,  but  had 
only  just  begun  the  Mass  when  his  strength  failed  him:  he  fell  at  the  foot  of 
the  altar,  and  expired  in  the  arms  of  those  Indians  whom  he  had  spent  thirty 
years  in  instructing  and  protecting.  Father  Fortuni,  the  founder  of  the  mis- 
sion of  San  Rafael,  expired  soon  after. 

Not  even  the  elevation  of  Fatiier  Francisco  Garcia  Diego,  an  old  Cali- 
fornia missionary,  to  the  episcopacy,  in  1S40,  could  arrest  the  work  of  sacri- 
lege. When  Duflot  de  Mofras  visited  the  missions  in  1842,  several  of  the 
missions  were  entirely  closed,  the  Indians  had  dwindled  down  from  30,000  to 
4,450,  their  cattle  from  424,000  to  28,000,  and  their  other  stock  in  proportion. 
The  mission  and  church  of  San  Diego  were  in  ruins,  and  the  missionary.  Father 
Vicente  Oliva,  had  but  one  little  farm  for  his  remaining  five  hundred  Indians. 
That  of  San  Juan  Capistrano  was  in  ruins,  too.  Amid  the  ruins  of  San 
Gabriel  he  found  the  unbroken  Biscayan,  Father  Thomas  Estenega,  seated 
in  a  field  before  a  large  table,  with  his  sleeves  rolled  up,  kneading  clay,  and 
teachmg  his  Indians  to  make  bricks.  At  San  Fernando,  Santa  Clara,  and  at 
Santa  Inez,  the  missionaries  had  contrived  to  save  much.  St.  Bonaventurei 
Santa  Cruz,  San  Juan  Bautista,  San  Miguel,  Carmel,  the  Conception,  and 
San  Rafael  were  deserted  or  in  ruins.  St.  Barbara  was  the  residence  of 
Father  Narcissus  Duran,  the  kind,  generous,  benevolent,  and  devoted  prefect. 
At  San  Luis  Obispo,  amid  the  ruins,  he  found,  in  the  greatest  misery,  the 
oldest  missionary  in  the  coinitry.  Father  Ramon  Abella,  whom  La  Peyrouse 
had  seen  there  in  1787.  This  aged  man  had  no  bed  but  a  hide,  no  cup  but  a 
horn,  no  food  but  some  dried  beef.  In  vain  had  Father  Duran  urged  him  to 
leave  his  place  and  take  one  of  greater  ease;  he  determined  to  die  at  the  mis- 
sion, and  divided  all  the  alms  sent  him  among  his  poor  and  plundered  Indians. 
Founder  of  several  of  the  missions  that  now  lay  in  ruins,  he  still  talked  of 
proceeding  to  found  others  in  the  north.  At  La  Soledad,  it  was  loneliness 
indeed:  there  were  silent  ruins,  but  no  missionary — not  an  Indian  nor  a  single 
hcatl  of  cattle;  the  vineyards  were  abandonctl,  the  gardens  overgrown,  and 
the  orchards  wild.  At  San  Josd,  the  prefect  of  the  northern  missions.  Father 
Gonzalez,  received  from  the  civil  administrator  an  allowance  of  food  less  than 
would  be  given  to  a  criminal.  San  Francisco  Solano  had  been  destroyed,  and 
the  materials  taken  by  Don  Mariano  Vallejo  to  construct  his  beautiful  man- 
sion. 


l8o  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

Sucli  was  the  state  of  these  missions  which  still  numbered  thirteen  mis- 
sionaries; but  civil  war  now  broke  out;  the  remaining  missions  were  occu- 
pied by  the  contending  parties,  and  the  Indians  were  drawn  into  the  quarrel. 
Hcfore  any  order  could  be  restored,  the  American  war  ensued;  California 
was  taken,  the  gold  mines  drew  a  new  population  to  the  country,  and  tlic  In- 
dians of  the  missions  entirely  disappeared.  In  a  later  chapter  of  our  work 
we  shall  Icarn  of  the  Church's  success  under  these  new  and  startling  co.idi- 
tionft. 


Chapter  X. 


Che  Cnoss  in  Deu)  7nance. 


JACQUES   Cartier  thk    Expi,orer. — Ths   Baptism    of    St.  Lawrknce    River. 

— CKtKBRATION  BY  CHIEFS  AND  SQUAWS. — -ThE  COMMANDER  ACTS  AS  CHAP- 
LAIN.—I'lRST  Settlement  at  Montreai,.— In  the  Name  op  France. — Jac- 
ques Cartier's  Death. — Early  Life  of  Champlain. — Visiting  the  Shores 
OF  Acadia.— First  Landing  at  Quebec. — Many  Fervent  Missionaries — 
End  oe  the  Illustrious  Pioneer. 


J  HE  Spanish  missions  in  the  south  of  this  country,  of  which  some 
liave  just  been  recorded,  were  rivaled  in  Catholic  interest  by  thoee 
of  a  French  origin  tliat  had  their  theatre  along  our  northern 
frontier.  As  in  the  former  case,  too,  the  clergy  were  here  preceded 
by  some  adventurous  Catholic  laymen,  who  blazed  a  way  in  tlie 
wilderness  for  the  Cross  and  its  holy  ambassadors.  Some  notice 
of  these  gallant  explorers  is  an  essential  chapter  of  the  history  of  Catholicity 
on  this  continent. 

Vcrrazano,  as  we  have  seen,  was  in  tiie  French  service,  but  he  perished 
at  sea  on  his  second  voyage.  His  successor  under  the  same  flag  was  James 
Cartier,  who  was  born  in  1494  at  that  famous  French  seaport  to  which  the 
Irish  St.  Malo  has  left  his  name.  Little  is  known  of  Cartier's  early  years, 
except  that  he  became  a  skilled  navigator,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  was 
a  master  pilot 


I82  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

The  dim  memory  of  Verrazano's  voyage  remained,  and  France  still 
thought  of  discovering  a  passage  to  the  riches  of  India,  and  of  founding  a 
colony  beyond  the  sea .  Cartier  was  commissioned  to  make  a  preparatory 
exploration.  He  sailed  from  St.  Malo  on  April  20,  1534,  coasted  a  portion 
of  Newfoundland,  steered  through  the  strait  of  Belle  Isle,  crossed  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence,  entered  the  bay  of  Chaleurs,  passed  northward  to  the  smaller 
bay  of  Gaspe,  and  there  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  Francis 
I.  A  cross  thirty  feet  high  was  erected  on  a  point  of  land.  It  bore  the  arnfis 
of  France  and  the  words — Vive  le  Roi  de  France,  "Long  live  the  King  of 
France."  As  will  be  seen,  however,  it  was  not  till  nearly  a  century  later 
(1608)  that  Quebec  was  taken  formal  possession  of.  From  that  stronghold 
France  ruled  for  150  years  a  vast  region,  extending  eastward  to  Acadia — 
Nova  Scotia — westward  to  Lake  Superior,  and  down  the  Mississippi  to 
Florida  and  Louisiana.  In  1759  a  British  army  under  command  of  General 
Wolfe  virtually  wrenched  La  Nouvelle  France  from  her  first  European  rulers 
by  the  taking  of  Quebec,  and  then  Montreal  was  beleaguered  and  taken  by 
General  Amherst  with  an  army  of  17,000  men.  The  capitulation  of  that  city, 
which  was  signed  September,  17G0,  brought  to  a  final  close  the  era  of  French 
dominion  in  Canada.  The  people  of  the  conquered  country  were  promised, 
by  the  terms  agreed  to,  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion;  and  peace  was 
concluded  between  Britain  and  France  in  1763. 

Meanwhile,  after  some  further  exploration  of  the  gulf,  Cartier  turned 
homeward,  and  arrived  at  St.  Malo  in  September.  "The  spirit  of  discovery," 
writes  Parkman,  "was  awakened.  A  passage  to  India  could  be  found,  and  a 
new  France  built  up  beyond  the  Atlantic.  Mingled  with  such  views  of  inter- 
est and  ambition  was  another  motive  scarcely  less  potent.  The  heresy  of 
Luther  was  convulsing  Germany,  and  the  deeper  heresy  of  Calvin  infecting 
France.  Devout  Catholics,  kindling  with  redoubled  zeal,  would  fain  requite 
the  Church  for  her  losses  in  the  old  world  by  winning  to  her  fold  the  infidels 
of  the  new." 

Three  small  vessels  were  equipped  for  a  new  expedition.  Cartier  "was 
a  man  of  deep  religious  feeling,"  and,  in  imitation  of  Columbus  before 
departing,  he  assembled  his  officers  and  crews  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Malo 
on  Whit-Sunday,  May  16,  1535.  All  went  to  confession,  received  Holy 
Communion,  and  after  Mass  the  bishop  gave  them  his  solemn  blessing.  Two 
Benedictine  fathers,  Dom  William  and  Dom  Anthony,  accompanied  the 
expedition  as  chaplains: 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  183 

"  In  tlic  seaport  of  St.  Malo,  'twas  a  smiling  morn  in  May, 
When  the  Commodore  James  Cartier  to  the  westward  sailed  away. 
In  the  crowded  old  Cathedral  all  the  town  were  on  their  knees, 
For  the  safe  return  of  kinsmen  from  the  undiscovered  seas; 
And  every  bitter  blast  that  swept  o'er  pinnacle  and  pier, 
Filled  manly  hearts  with  sorrow,  and  gentle  hearts  with  fear." 

After  a  stormy  passage,  Cartier  entered  a  small  bay  opposite  the  island 
of  Anticosti,  on  the  north  shore  of  the  gulf  he  had  explored  twelve  months 
before.  It  was  the  loth  of  August,  the  feast  of  the  holy  martyr  St.  Law- 
rence, and  he  "called it  the  Bay  of  St.  Lawrence,  a  name  afterwards  extended 
to  the  entire  gulf  and  to  the  great  river  above." 

The  little  squadron  took  its  way  up  the  lonely  majestic  stream,  whose 
savage  grandeur  must  have  deeply  impressed  the  Frenchmen.  At  length, 
they  came  to  a  point  where  bold  towering  cliffs,  three  hundred  feet  high, 
thrust  themselves  into  the  river,  narrowing  its  channel,  and  standing  like  grim 
sentinels  appointed  to  guard  its  waters.  Here  a  dusky  chief  named  Donna- 
cona  ruled  over  the  Indian  village  of  Stadacon<5;  and  here,  in  later  years, 
Quebec,  the  rock-built  capital  of  Canada,  reared  its  frowning  battlements. 

Donnacona  visited  the  ships  attended  by  a  fleet  of  canoes.  Cartier  en- 
tertained him  with  bread  and  wine,  and  the  greasy  ruler  was  overjoyed. 
When  the  French  commander  went  ashore,  he  was  received  with  delight. 
Squaws  and  warriors  danced  before  him,  and,  when  he  distributed  beads  and 
knives,  the  simple  creatures  made  the  hills  echo  with  their  songs  and 
merriment. 

Cartier  learned  that  a  greater  village  named  Hochelaga  lay  further  up 
the  river;  and  as  soon  as  he  found  a  safe  harbor  for  his  ships,  he  set  out  for 
it  in  two  boats  and  a  pinnace.  The  Frenchmen  pushed  up  the  St.  Lawrence 
for  nearly  two  weeks  before  they  came  to  the  object  of  their  search.  They 
were  warmly  welcomed.  The  village  of  Hochelaga  was  built  on  a  large 
island.  It  was  circular  in  form,  "and  three  rows  of  palisades  inclosed  in  it 
about  fifty  tunnel-shaped  cabins,  each  over  fifty  paces  long,  and  fourteen  or 
fifteen  paces  wide.  It  was  entered  by  a  single  gate,  above  which,  as  well  as 
along  the  first  palisade,  ran  a  kind  of  gallery  reached  by  ladders,  and  well 
provided  with  stones  and  pieces  of  rock  for  the  defence  of  the  place." 

When  Cartier  and  his  men  entered  this  singular  metropolis  of  dusky 
power,  they  were  led  to  an  open  square  in  the  center  of  the  village.  The 
scjuaws  beheld  them  with  wonder,- rubbed  tlieir  hands  and  faces,  crieil  with 
delight,  and  brought  their  children  to  be  touched  by  the  mysterious  strangers. 


1 84  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Mats  were  spread  on  the  ground  for  the  Frenchmen,  and  the  warriors  seated 
themselves  around. 

The  chief  was  tlien  borne  by  ten  men  on  a  litter  and  placed  on  a  mat 
next  to  Cartier.  He  seemed  to  be  about  fifty  years  of  age,  and  had  no  mark 
of  distinction  but  a  cap  ornamented  with  porcupine's  quills  dyed  red.  He 
took  it  off,  and  gave  it  to  the  captain,  requesting  him  to  rub  his  arms  and 
legs,  which  trembled  with  the  palsy.  A  crowd  of  sick,  blind,  and  lame  now 
crowded  around — all  wishing  to  be  relieved  of  their  miseries. 

"  The  simplicity  of  these  people,"  writes  Charlevoix,  "  touched  the 
captain,  who,  arming  himself  with  a  lively  faith,  recited  with  all  possible 
devotion  the  beginning  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  He  then  made  the  sign 
of  the  cross  on  the  sick,  and  gave  them  beads  and  Agnus  Deis.  This  done, 
he  began  to  pray,  and  earnestly  besought  the  Lord  not  to  leave  these  poor 
idolaters  longer  in  the  shades  of  unbelief.  Then  he  recited  aloud  the  whole 
passion  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  was  heard  with  great  attention  and  respect  by 
all  present,  and  the  pious  ceremony  was  closed  by  a  blast  of  trumpets,  which 
put  these  Indians  beside  themselves  with  joy  and  wonder." 

A  magnificent  hill  looked  down  on  the  village,  and  that  was  the  next 
point  visited  by  Cartier.  On  reaching  the  top,  he  was  charmed,  and  called  it 
Mount  Royal — Montreal.  The  name  is  now  well  known.  "  From  the 
summit,"  says  an  American  historian,  "  that  noble  prospect  met  his  eye  which 
at  this  day  is  the  delight  of  tourists,  but  strangely  changed  since,  first  of 
white  men,  the  Breton  voyager  gazed  upon  it.  Tovver  and  dome  and  spire, 
congregated  roofs,  white  sail  and  gliding  steamer,  animate  its  vast  expanse 
with  varied  life. 

"  Cartier  saw  a  different  scene.  East,  west,  and  south,  the  mantling 
forest  was  over  all,  and  the  broad  blue  ribbon  of  the  great  river  glistened 
amid  a  realm  of  verdure.  Beyond,  to  the  bounds  of  Mexico,  stretched  a 
leafy  desert;  and  the  vast  hive  of  industry,  the  mighty  battle  ground  of  later 
centuries,  lay  sunk  in  savage  torpor,  wrapped  in  illimitable  woods." 

The  French  departed  from  Hochelaga  amid  the  regrets  of  the  kindly 
savages,  and  their  arrival  at  Stadacon^  was  hailed  with  pleasure.  Cartier  de- 
cided to  pass  the  winter  there.  The  ships  were  properly  secured.  Cold  set  in. 
Jack  Frost  threw  an  ice-bridge  across  the  river,  and  the  snow  fell  in  more 
than  abundance.  In  short,  all  the  rigors  of  a  Canadian  winter  had  to  be  en- 
dured. Nor  was  this  all.  Scurvy  soon  added  its  appalling  horrors  to  the 
miseries  of  the  ice-bound   Frenchmen.     A  good  number  died,  and   dozens 


MT.  RKV.  JOHN   IKKI.A.N'I).  I).  1)..  ARCH  BISHOP  OF  ST.  PAUL. 


CHURCHES    IN    THE    ARCHDIOCESE    OF    ST.    PAUL. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  1 85 

were  stricken  down.  The  flinty  grounii  denied  the  deiul  a  huryinij-place,  and 
their  remains  had  to  lie  liidden  in  the  huge  snowth'ifts! 

In  his  woeful  distress,  Cartier,  with  the  piety  of  a  brave  son  of  the 
ancient  faith,  implored  the  protection  of  heaven.  "Our  captain,"  says  the 
account  of  the  voyage,  "  seeing  the  misery  and  malady  thus  spread,  sum- 
moned all  to  prayer  and  devotion.  He  caused  an  image  in  remembrance  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  to  be  borne  over  the  snow  and  ice  and  set  up  against  a  tree, 
a  bow-shot  distant  from  our  fort;  and  he  ordered  that,  on  the  Sunday  follow- 
ing. Mass  should  be  celebrated  at  the  said  place,  and  that  all  those  who  could 
walk,  both  sick  and  well,  should  go  in  procession,  singing  the  Seven  Psalms 
of  David,  with  the  Litany,  praying  the  said  Virgin  that  it  would  please  her 
dear  Child  to  have  pity  on  us.  The  Mass  said  and  celebrated  before  the  said 
image,  the  captain  declared  himself  a  pilgrim  to  Our  Lady  of  Roquemado, 
promising  to  get  there  if  it  pleased  God  to  permit  him  to  return  to  France." 

Shortly  after  this,  Cartier  learned  of  a  remedy  for  scurvy  from  one  of 
the  savages.  It  "was  a  decoction  of  the  leaves  and  bark  of  the  white  pine, 
pounded  together."  The  poor,  bloated  woe-begone  mariners  drank  the  disa- 
greeable medicine,  and  its  effects  were  surprising — all  were  soon  restored  to 
good  health.  When  the  sun  of  May  broke  the  icy  fetters  that  bound  the 
ships,  and  drove  the  vast  masses  of  ice  down  the  river,  the  French  commander 
took  formal  possession  of  the  country  by  erecting  a  cross  thirty-five  feet  high, 
bearing  the  arms  of  France  and  the  inscription — Franciscus  Primus,  Dei 
Gratia,  Francorum  Rex,  rcgnat,  "  Francis  the  First,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
King  of  France,  reigns."  The  sails  were  spread  on  the  6th  of  May,  and 
Cartier  steered  for  home.  Donnacona  and  two  Indians  were  on  board.  St. 
Malo  was  reached  in  July,  1536. 

Cartier  gave  a  good  account  of  the  strange  country  beyond  the  Atlantic, 
and  the  mighty  river  that  swept  past  Ilochelaga  and  Stadacon(5.  Though 
the  times  were  unfavorable,  a  new  expedition  was  fitted  out.  Roberval,  a 
nobleman,  was  appointed  governor  of  Canada.  Cartier  received  the  post  of 
Captain-General,  and  in  May,  1 541,  be  steered  for  the  banks  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  with  a  squadron  of  five  vessels.     Roberval  was  detained  in  France, 

Summer  was  fading  away  when  the  French  began  to  form  a  settlement 
.ind  build  a  fort  some  leagues  above  Stadacon6.  Cartier  himself  went  up  the 
river,  and  explored  the  rapids  above  Ilochelaga.  He  returned  in  November. 
Roberval  had  not  come.  The  settlers  prepared  for  winter,  and,  no  doubt, 
they  had  a  hard  time  of  it   before  spring  appeared;  for  as  soon  as  the  ships 


1 86  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  TUP. 

could  drop  down  tlie  river,  the  disgusted  colonists  packed  lliiir  trunks  :ind  set 
sail  for  France.  On  arriving,  hovk'ever,  at  the  hiirhor  of  St.  Joliii,  in  Mcw- 
foundland,  they  met  Robcrval,  who  was  on  liis  way  with  three  ships  to  estab- 
lish a  colony  in  Canada.     Cartier  refused  to  return,  and  liore  away  for  France. 

And  what  liecame  of  the  ill-starred  colony?  It  had  a  brief  existence. 
The  king  sent  Cartier  to  bring  home  the  survivors,  as  he  neetletl  the  ser\  ices 
of  Roberval. 

And  here  abruptly  closes  the  public  career  of  the  discoverer  of  Canada. 
He  was  ennobled,  retired  to  his  estate  near  St.  Malo,  and  when  he  died, 
about  1555,  the  wild  Indian  was  still  sole  master  of  the  vast  country  wateied 
by  the  St.  Lawrence.  Cartier  had  pointed  out  the  way.  It  remained  for  a 
more  renowned  Catholic  pioneer — a  man  of  a  later  generation — to  be<;in  in 
real  earnest  the  work  of  founding  a  nation  which  to-day  holds  a  prominent 
place  on  the  map  of   North  America. 

This  was  Samuel  de  Champlain,  a  brave  Biscayan  of  noble  family,  who 
first  beheld  the  New  World  in  a  cruise  to  the  West  Indies.  He  visited  many 
of  the  scenes  made  famous  by  Columbus,  Balboa,  and  Cortds;  and,  while  at 
Panama,  he  planned  a  ship-canal  across  the  Isthmus,  "  by  which,"  he  says, 
"the  voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  would  be  shortened  by  more  than  llfleen 
hundred  leagues." 

On  his  return,  an  association  of  merchants  at  Dieppe  engaged  him  to 
make  a  voyage  of  exploration  to  Canada,  which  still  lay  an  unbroken  wilder, 
ness,  untouched  by  the  band  of  civilization.  Champlain  sailed  from  Iloiilkur 
in  1603,  crossed  the  Atlantic,  held  his  way  up  the  lonely  St.  Lawrence,  passed 
the  bare,  frowning  cliffs  of  Quebec,  where  all  was  solitude,  and,  at  length, 
reached  the  island  of  Montreal — sixty-eight  years  after  the  first  visit  of  Cartier. 
Mount  Royal  looked  down  as  before,  but  Ilochelaga  had  vanished.  The 
new  pioneer  explored  the  St.  Louis  Rapids,  and  tried  to  learn  what  he  could 
about  the  country  from  a  few  wandering  Indians.  He  then  sailed  homeward, 
"  the  objects  of  his  mission  accomplished,  but  his  own  adventurous  curiosity 
unsated." 

On  his  arrival  in  France,  he  was  invited  to  join  the  expedition  of  De 
Monts,  a  nobleman,  who  held  a  commission  from  the  king  to  settle  Acadia, 
now  Nova  Scotia;  Champlain  was  pilot.  Two  vessels  were  equipped,  and 
sailed  in  March,  1604.  The  voyagers  coasted  the  southern  extremity  of 
Nova  Scotia,  explored  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  sailed  up  the  St.  John's  River, 
and   began  a  fort  and    settlement   on  a  rocky  islet  near  the  mouth  of  the    St. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  187 

Croix.  Winter  came  atnl  proved  very  severe.  Scurvy  attaclied  the  colonists. 
Betore  the  warm  sun  of  May  shone  out,  thirty-six  Frenchmen  h.id  peopled 
the  little  cemetery.  "Yet  among  them,"  writes  Parkman,  "  there  was  one 
at  least,  who,  amid  languor  and  defection,  held  to  his  purpose  with  an  indomit- 
able tenacity;  and  where  Champlain  was  present  there  was  no  room  for 
despair." 

The  settlement  was  soon  removed  to  Port  Royal,  and  Champlain  con- 
tinued his  explorations.  He  took  observations,  made  charts,  and  carefully 
examined  every  bay,  river,  harbor,  and  island  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Cape  Cod 
in  Massachusetts.  Thus  the  first  coast  survey  of  New  England  was  made 
by  a  Catholic  pioneer,  fifteen  years  before  the  Puritans  landed  at  Plymouth. 

But  we  must  now  leave  the  hapless  colony  of  Acatlia,  and  follow  Cham- 
plain to  the  great  labor  of  his  life.  He  directed  the  attention  of  De  Monts 
to  Canada.  That  nobleman  obtained  a  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  from  Henry 
IV  for  one  year,  and  it  was  at  once  decided  to  establish  a  colony  on  the  St. 
Lawrence.  De  Monts  appointed  Champlain  his  lieutenant  with  all  necessary 
powers. 

In  160S,  Champlain  sailed  from  Honfleur,  and  was  soon  on  his  way  up 
the  great  river  of  Canada.  He  cast  anchor  at  a  point  where  the  St.  Lawrence 
was  narrowed  by  a  bold  rocky  cape  that  thrust  itself  into  the  channel,  and 
was  crowned  by  vines  and  walnuts.  The  natives  called  it  Quebec.  Stada- 
con6  had  disappeared.  The  eagle  eye  of  Champlain  saw  in  this  striking 
place  the  key  to  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence;  and  in  July  he  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  what  wasdestinetl  to  be  one  of  the  most  famous  cities  in  America. 

"  Our  habitation,"  wrote  the  founder  of  Quebec,  "  is  in  forty-six  and  a 
half  degrees  north  latitude.  The  country  is  pleasant  and  beautiful.  It  is  suit- 
able for  all  kinds  of  grain.  The  forests  are  stocked  with  a  variety  of  trees. 
Fruits  are  plentiful — wild,  of  course — as  the  walnut,  cherry,  plum,  raspberr)-, 
gooseberry,  etc.  The  rivers  produce  fish  in  abundance,  and  the  quantity  of 
game  is  infinite." 

The  little  French  colony  sat  down  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
Before  it  took  firm  root  in  the  soil,  however,  it  was  condemned  to  be  shaken 
by  many  a  tempest — to  be  decimated  by  disease,  toiniented  by  the  Iroquois, 
and  attacked  by  its  neighbors  of  New  England,  hulocil,  during  a  long 
period,  it  seemed  to  be  on  the  point  of  perishing;  but,  with  the  aid  of  Provi- 
dence, it  picked  up  vigor,  and  finisheil  by  naturalizing  itself  unilcr  the  rigor, 
ous  sky  of  Canada. 


l88  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

When  the  first  long  winter  at  the  rude  fort  of  Quebec  had  passed  away 
— leaving  only  eight  men  alive  out  of  twenty-eight — Chaniplain  felt  strongly 
urged  to  begin  the  work  of  exploring  the  country.  But  it  was  a  dangerous 
enterprise.  He  quickly  learned  what  was  meant  by  scalping-parties  of  sav- 
ages. As  he  was  one  of  the  bravest  of  men,  however,  the  perilous  toil  had 
its  fascinations. 

At  that  time,  two  great  Indian  families — the  Ilurons  and  Algon- 
quins — ranged  the  woods  of  Canada,  and  claimed  to  be  "  lords  of  the  fowl 
and  the  brute,"  in  its  wilderness.  The  Algonquin  hunters  roamed  the  wiile 
territory  that  stretches  from  the  city  of  Quebec  along  to  the  head-waters  of 
the  Ottawa  River;  while  the  Hurons  inhabited  villages  in  a  country  of  lim- 
ited extent,  which  lay  south  of  Georgian  Bay.  The  Hurons  and  Algon- 
quins  were  allies  in  a  deadly  struggle  with  the  Iroquois,  or  Five  Nations — 
famous  warriors  of  hardy  mold  and  fierce  disposition,  who  occupied  fortified 
towns  in  what  is  now  the  central  part  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  assistance  of  the  great  white  chief  at  Quebec  was  eagerly  sought  by 
his  red  neighbors.  Fighting  and  exploration  went  hand  in  hand.  One  day, 
in  thesummer  of  1609,  a  fleet  of  canoes  might  be  seen  skimming  along  the 
calm  surface  of  the  Richelieu  River.  It  was  a  war  party  of  Hurons  and 
Algonquins  on  their  way  to  attack  the  Iroquois;  and  Champlain  and  two 
Frenchmen,  well  armed,  were  in  company.  The  canoes,  at  length,  glitied 
into  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  which  to-day  bears  the  name  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  after  its  intrepid  discoverer. 

When  paddling  near  the  historic  site  of  Crown  Point,  the  allies  suddenly 
fell  in  with  a  party  of  their  enemies.  The  canoes  were  pulled  ashore.  For 
reasons  of  policy,  the  three  Frenchmen  were  hidden  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Hurons  and  Algonquins.  About  two  hundred  Iroquois  warriors  stepped  to 
the  conflict  with  great  order  and  steadiness.  At  their  head  were  three  chiefs 
who  could  be  easily  recognized  by  their  long,  waving  plumes. 

The  two  parties  being  face  to  face,  at  a  little  distance  from  each  other, 
the  allies  opened  their  ranks,  and  loudly  called  on  Champlain  to  come  to  the 
front.  He  wore  a  coat  of  light  armor,  and  had  four  balls  in  his  gun.  "  I 
walked  some  twenty  paces  ahead,"  he  writes,  "  till  I  was  within  thirty  paces 
of  the  enemy,  when  they  perceived  me,  and  halted  to  look  at  me,  and  I  at 
them.  As  I  saw  them  moving  to  fire  at  us,  I  raised  my  arquelnise,  and 
aimed  directly  at  one  of  the  three  chiefs." 

Two  chiefs  and  a  warrior  fell  mortally  wounded.     Then  arose  a  series  of 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  I89 

will!  w.ir-cries  that  were  echoed  hack  hy  the  Adirondacks,  and  a  shower  of 
arrows  Hlled  the  air.  The  two  other  Frenchmen  were  concealed  behind  trees, 
and  now  one  of  them  discharged  his  arc[uebuse.  This  ended  the  battle.  The 
Iroquois  broke  and  fled  in  terror.  It  was  the  30th  of  July,  1609 — nearly  two 
months  before  Henry  Hudson  entered  New  York  Bay.  Thus  Champlain  was 
the  lust  vvliite  man  whose  foot  pressed  the  soil  of  New  York;  he  was  the  first 
of  that  countless  crowd  of  tourists  who  now  visit  the  Adirondacks — not  to 
fight  the  vanished  Mohawk,  but  to  find  health  and  pleasure. 

Champlain,  on  arriving  at  Quebec,  sailed  for  France.  He  gave  De  Monts 
an  account  of  his  labors  and  explorations,  and  had  a  pleasant  interview  with 
his  old  master,  Henry  IV,  to  whom  he  presented  a  belt  adorned  with  por- 
cupine's quills.  But  his  stay  was  short.  He  was  soon  in  Canada  again,  fight- 
ing, exploring,  and  building  up  the  infant  colony . 

It  was  during  a  visit  to  Paris  two  years  later  that  he  married  Miss 
Helena  Boulle,  a  gifted  and  beautiful  girl,  who — unknown  to  the  hero  of  the 
Canadian  forests — had  been  secretly  educated  a  Protestant.  Under  his  in- 
struction, however,  she  became  a  pious  and  sincere  Catholic,  and  God  blessed 
their  companionship. 

In  1613,  Champlain,  misled  hy  the  story  of  a  Frenchman  named  Du 
Viguan,  set  out  in  search  of  a  nortliwest  sea.  He  paddled  up  the  turbid 
current  of  the  Ottawa,  till  the  far-away  island  of  Allumettc  was  reached. 
Great  was  the  astonishment  of  the  savages  on  seeing  the  bold  pioneer.  "These 
white  men  must  have  fallen  from  the  clouds,"  exclaimed  an  old  warrior. 
"  How  else  could  they  have  reached  us  through  the  woods  and  rapids  which 
even  we  find  it  hard  to  pass?  The  French  chief  can  do  anything.  All  tiiat 
we  have  heard  of  him  must  be  true." 

When  he  learned  that  he  was  deceived  in  hoping  to  find  a  great  sea  and 
a  road  to  China  in  tliat  direction,  Champlain  turned  about  and  pursuL'd  his 
way  homewards,  accompanied  hy  a  numl)er  of  Indian  traders.  On  reaching 
the  Chaudiere  Falls,  at  the  site  of  the  present  capital  of  Canada,  he  witnessed 
a  ceremony  which  the  savages  never  omitted  in  passing  that  picturesque  but 
dangerous  place.  The  dusky  voyagers  assembled  at  the  bottom  of  the  foam- 
ing waterfall.  "They  stood  in  a  circle.  A  wooden  plate  was  passed  around, 
and  each  deposited  on  it  a  small  piece  of  tobacco.  The  collection  made,  they 
sang  around  the  plate.  A  harangue  was  pronounced.  Then  all  followed  to 
sec  the  tobacco  thrown  into  the  falls;  and  this  offering  to  the  guardian 
manitou  was  accompanied  by  a  general  and  prolonged  shout.     To  pass  down 


igo  TRLILS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

without    inakinjj;  the  accustomed  ^ift  would  he  to  insult  the  iiiauitou  and  cal! 
forth  iiis  venjjcancc!" 

While  Canada  had  careless  royal  protectors,  and  greedy  merchants 
looked  to  it  for  furs  and  profit,  Champlain  wa?  its  true  life  and  soul.  He 
says  that  he  bore  his  toils  and  hardships  in  order  "to  plant  in  this  country  tlie 
standard  of  the  Cross,  and  to  teach  the  knowledge  of  God  and  the  glory  of 
His  Holy  Name."  lie  longed  to  rescue  from  perdition  a  people  living  "  like 
brute  beasts,  without  faith,  without  law,  without  religion,  without  God."  In 
short,  the  noble  founder  (jf  Quebec  declares  that  "the  salvation  of  a  single 
soul  is  worth  more  than  the  conquest  of  an  empire." 

The  favorable  circumstances  of  the  colony  now  convinced  Champlain 
that  the  proper  time  had  arrived  to  invite  missionaries  to  visit  the  banks  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  for  the  purpose  of  reviving  and  sustaining  the  faith  among 
the  French  and  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  dusky  sons  of  the  forest.  To 
accomplish  such  a  sublime  enterprise,  he  "sought  out  some  good  religious, 
who  would  have  zeal  and  affection  for  God's  glory."  As  those  who  earnestly 
seek  always  find,  so  Champlain  did  not  look  in  vain  for  apostolic  men.  Four 
Franciscan  Fathers  offered  their  services,  but  as  they  "were  as  weak  in 
resources  as  Champlain  himself,"  to  use  the  words  of  Parkman,  "  he  repaired 
to  Paris,  then  filled  with  bishops,  cardinals,  and  nobles  assembled  for  the 
states-general.  Responding  to  his  appeal,  they  subscribed  fifteen  hundred 
livres  for  the  purchase  of  vestments,  candles,  and  ornaments  for  altars.  The 
Pope  authorized  the  mission,  and  the  king  gave  letters  patent  in  its  favor." 

The  four  religious  pioneers  named  for  the  Canadian  mission  were 
Fathers  Denis  Jamet,  John  Dolbeau,Josei>li  Le  Caron,  and  Brother  Pacific 
du  Plessis — men  "  who  were  borne  away  by  h  )ly  affection,  who  burned  to 
make  this  voyage,  if  so,  by  God's  grace,  thej  might  gain  some  fruit,  and 
might  plant  in  these  lands  the  standard  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  fixed  resolution 
to  live,  and  if  need  were,  to  die,  for  His  Sacred  Name." 

The  necessary  preparations  for  departure  being  made,  "each  of  us,"  to 
quote  once  more  the  words  of  Champlain,  "examined  himself,  and  purged 
himself  of  his  sins  by  penitence  and  confession,  so  as  best  to  say  adieu  to 
France  and  to  place  himself  in  a  state  of  grace,  that  each  might  be  conscien- 
tiouslj'  free  to  give  himself  up  in  the  keeping  of  God,  and  to  the  billows  of  a 
vast  and  perilous  sea." 

Champlain  ordered  the  sails  to  lie  spread,  and  the  good  ship  stood  out  to 
sea,  leaving  Honfleiu'  in  April,  1615.      Quebec  was  reached   towards  the  end 


CAT  1 10  Lie  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  Igi 

of  May.  A  little  convent  and  chapel  were  erected  for  the  missionaries,  and 
on  the  35th  of  June,  Father  Dolheau  had  the  happiness  of  celebrating  the 
first  Mass  ever  said  in  the  rude  rock-built  capital  of  the  little  colony. 

"Nothing  was  wanting,"  writes  Father  Le  Clercq,  "to  render  this  action 
solemn  as  far  as  the  simplicity  of  the  infant  colony  would  permit.  .  .  . 
All  made  their  confessions  and  received  Holy  Communion.  The  Tc  Dcum 
was  chantcil,  and  its  sounds  mingled  with  the  roar  of  the  artillery  and  the 
acclamations  of  joy,  which  were  re-echoed  by  the  surrounding  solitudes,  of 
which  it  might  be  said  that  they  were  changed  into  a  paradise,  all  therein  in- 
voking the  King  of  Heaven,  and  calling  to  their  aid  the  guardian  angels  of 
these  vast  provinces." 

A  month  after,  Mass  was  celebrated  regularly  every  Sunday  at  Quebec. 
Truly  it  was  a  grand  and  beautiful  day  for  Champlain  and  for  the  colonists 
who  clustered  around  him  in  the  poor  little  chapel  of  Quebec,  as  they  .assisted 
for  the  first  time  at  the  Holy  Sacrifice  on  the  banks  of  the  mighty  St.  Law- 
rence. This  was  the  beginning  of  Catholicity  in  Canada.  During  a  century 
and  a  half  the  church  of  Quebec  was  the  center  and  almost  only  focus  of  the 
Faith  in  the  immense  regions  which  extended  from  Hudson's  Bay  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico. 

Each  father  began  the  work  assigned  him.  It  was  a  vast  field  with  few 
laborers.  The  Huron  mission  fell  to  Le  Caron.  Dolbeau  was  charged  with 
the  roving  bands  of  Algonquins  below  Quebec.  For  the  present  Jamet  and 
Du  Plessis  were  to  remain  at  Quebec.  Let  us  glance  for  a  moment  along 
the  thorny  pathway  of  Dolbeau  and  Le  Caron — the  pioneer  missionaries  of 
Canada.     The  picture  is  from  a  non-Catholic  pen. 

"  Dolbeau,  full  of  zeal,"  writes  Francis  Parkman,  "  set  out  for  his  post, 
and,  in  the  next  winter,  essayeil  to  follow  the  roving  hordes  of  Tadoussac  to 
their  frozen  hunting-grounds.  He  was  not  robust,  and  his  eyes  were  weak. 
Lodged  in  a  hut  of  birch  bark,  full  of  abominations,  dogs,  fleas,  stench,  and 
all  unoleanliness,  he  succumbed  at  length  to  the  smoke,  which  well-nigh 
blinded  him,  forcing  him  to  remain  for  several  days  with  his  eyes  closed. 
After  debating  within  himself  whether  God  required  of  him  the  sacrifice  of 
his  sight,  he  solved  his  doubts  with  a  negative,  and  returncil  to  Quebec,  only 
to  set  forth  again  with  opening  spring  on  a  tour  so  extensive  that  it  brought 
him  in  contact  with  the  outlying  bands  of  the  Esquimaux. 

"  Meanwhile  Le  Caron  had  long  been  absent  on  a  mission  of  more  note- 
worthy   adventure.     While   his   i)rethren   were   building    their  convent  and 


,Q2  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

garnishing  their  altar  at  Quebec,  this  anient  fiiar  had  liastcncil  to  the  site  of 
Montreal,  then  thronged  with  a  savage  concourse  come  down  to  the  yearly 
trade.  He  mingled  with  them,  studied  their  manners,  tried  to  learn  their 
languages;  and  when,  soon  after,  Champlain  and  Pontgravd  arrived,  he 
declared  his  purpose  of  wintering  in  their  villages.  Dissuasion  availed  noth- 
ing. '  What,'  he  demanded, '  are  privations  to  him  whose  life  is  devoted  to 
perpetual  poverty,  who  has  no  ambition  but  to  serve  God  ? ' " 

The  assembled  Hurons  and  Algonquins  begged  Champlain  to  aid  them 
against  the  common  enemy,  the  Iroquois.  He  consented,  promising  to  join 
them  with  all  the  men  at  his  command.  The  Indians  were  to  muster  without 
delay  twenty-five  hundred  men,  and  the  fierce  enemy  would  soon  feel  the 
power  of  such  a  formidable  combination.  To  hasten  preparations,  Champlain 
proceeded  to  Quebec,  while  the  Indians  awaited  his  return.  But  they  soon 
grew  impatient  of  delay  and  hastened  to  their  villages,  accompanied  by  the 
indefatigable  Father  Le  Caron.    The  voyage  was  long  and  painful. 

"  It  would  be  hard  to  tell  you,"  the  apostolic  priest  writes  to  a  friend, 
"how  tired  I  was  with  paddling  all  day,  with  all  my  strength,  among  the 
Indians;  wading  the  rivers  a  hundred  times  and  more,  through  the  mud  and 
over  the  sharp  rocks  that  cut  my  feet;  carrying  the  canoe  and  luggage 
through  the  woods,  to  avoid  the  rapids  and  frightful  cataracts,  and  half- 
starved  all  the  while,  for  we  had  nothing  to  eat  but  a  little  sagamite,  a  sort  of 
f>orridge  of  water  and  pounded  maize,  of  which  they  gave  us  a  very  small 
allowance  every  morning  and  night.  But  I  must  needs  tell  you  what  abund- 
ant consolation  I  found  under  all  my  troubles;  for  when  one  sees  so  many 
infidels  needing  nothing  but  a  drop  of  water  to  make  them  children  of  God, 
he  feels  an  inexpressible  ardor  to  labor  for  their  conversion,  and  sacrifice  to  it 
his  repose  and  his  life." 

About  a  week  after  the  devoted  Champlain  was  following  on  the  track 
of  the  pious  Franciscan.  With  two  canoes,  ten  Indians,  his  interpreter,  and  a 
Frenchman,  he  pushed  up  the  currents  of  the  Ottawa,  passed  into  the  Mat- 
tawan,  and  was  soon  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Nipissing.  Here  he  was  well 
received  by  the  Indians,  and  rested  for  two  days.  His  canoes  then  skimmed 
down  the  French  River,  and  soon  his  eyes  beheld  the  placid  waters  of  Lake 
Huron,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  "  Mer  Douce."  Paddling  to  the  south, 
along  the  eastern  shore  of  Georgian  Bay,  he  landed,  and,  on  the  ist  of  August, 
found  himself  in  the  famed  country  of  the  Hurons. 

The  Huron  territory  stretched  from   north  to  south  between  the  rivers 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  1 93 

to- Jay  named  the  Severn  and  Nottawasaga;  and  from  cast  to  west  between 
Lake  Simcoe  and  the  Georgian  Bay.  Its  length  was  about  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  leagues,  and  its  width  not  more  than  seven  or  eight  leagues.  Although 
the  soil  was  sandy,  it  was  quite  fertile,  and  produced  Indian  corn,  beans,  and 
pumpkins  in  abundance.  Indeed,  the  Huron  country  was  regarded  as  the 
granary  of  the  Algonquin  nations,  whose  half. naked  hordes  came  hither 
yearly  from  the  borders  of  Lake  Nipissing  and  the  banks  of  the  Ottawa 
River  to  buy  their  provisions.  Chaniplaiu  found  eighteen  villages.  "  By  the 
Indian  standard,"  writes  Parkman,  "  it  was  a  mighty  nation;  yet  the  entire 
Huron  population  did  not  exceed  that  of  a  second  or  third  class  American 
city,  and  the  draft  of  twenty-five  hundred  warriors,  pledged  to  Champlain, 
must  have  left  its  villages  bereft  of  fighting-men." 

Father  Le  Caron,  on  his  arrival,  took  up  his  abode  in  the  village  of 
Carhagonha.  Here  he  built  for  himself  a  cabin  of  poles  and  bark,  in  which 
he  erected  an  altar  for  the  celebration  of  the  Sacred  Mysteries.  Champlain 
came  just  in  time  to  assist  at  the  first  Mass.  When  the  Holy  Sacrifice  was 
ended,  a  large  wooden  cross  was  made,  blessed,  and  planted  in  the  soil, 
while  all.  the  Fienchmen  present  chanted  the  T'e  Deum,  and  a  volley  of 
musketry  resounded  through  the  forests.  Thus  was  the  precious  sign  of 
Redemption  erected  for  the  first  time  in  a  land  covered  with  the  darkness 
of  paganism. 

On  the  1st  of  September  the  little  army  of  Hurons  began  the  march 
under  the  leadership  of  Champlain,  who  was  accompanied  by  twelve  French- 
men. The  fleet  of  canoes  skimmed  over  Lake  Simcoe,  then  followed  the 
course  of  a  number  of  little  rivers,  and  passed  over  a  portage  to  the  lakes 
which  form  the  sources  of  the  river  Trent.  As  they  traversed  a  count'-y 
full  of  g-.une  and  fish,  there  was  no  danger  of  starvation.  Passing  down  the 
Trent,  the  little  fleet  entcrcil  the  Bay  of  Quintc-,  and,  after  a  voyage  of  thirty- 
five  d.nys,  Champlain  beheld  the  sparkling  waters  of  the  grand  and  beautiful 
Lake  Ontario.  "  There,"  he  writes,  "is  the  beginning  of  the  great  river 
St.  Lawrence." 

The  nimble  paddles  cut  the  smooth  surface  of  Ontario,  and  soon  the 
birch  bark  sipiadron  touched  the  New  York  shore.  We  shall  let  the  photo- 
grapliic  pen  of  I'arkman  recount  what  befell  the  hardy  invaders. 

After  hiding  their  light  craft  in  the  woods,  the  warriors  took  up  their 
swift  and  wary  march,  filing  in  silence  between  the  wooils  and  the  lake,  fa>" 
twelve  miles  along  the  pebbly  strand.    Then  they  struck  inland,  threaded  tlie 


,94  TRIALS  AW  TRIUMPHS  Or  THE 

forest,  crossed  the  river  Onoiulaj^a,  aiul,  after  a  march  of  four  days,  were 
deep  witliui  the  western  Umits  of  the  Iroquois.  Some  of  their  scouts  met  a 
fishing-party  of  this  people,  and  captured  them,  eleven  in  number — men, 
women  and  children.  They  were  brought  to  the  camp  of  the  exultant  Hurons. 
As  a  beginning  of  the  jubilation,  a  chief  cut  a  finger  of  one  of  the  women, 
but  desisted  from  further  torturing  on  the  angry  protest  of  Champl.ain. 

Light  broke  in  upon  tiie  forest.  The  hostile  town  was  close  at  hand. 
Rugged  (ields  lay  before  them  with  a  slovenly  and  savage  cultivation.  The 
young  llurons  in  advance  saw  the  Iroquois  at  work  among  the  pumpkins 
and  maize  gathering  their  rustling  harvest,  for  it  was  the  loth  of  October. 
Nothing  could  restrain  the  hare-brained  and  ungoverncd  crew.  They  screamed 
their  war-cry  and  rushed  in;  but  the  Iroquois  snatched  their  weapons,  killed 
and  wounded  five  or  six  of  ihe  assailants,  and  drove  back  the  rest  discomfited. 
Champlain  and  his  Frenchmen  were  forced  to  interpose,  and  the  crack  of 
their  pieces  from  the  border  of  the  woods  stopped  the  pursuing  enemy,  who 
withdrew  to  their  defenses,  bearing  with  them  their  dead  and  wounded. 

It  was  a  town  of  the  Senecas,  the  most  populous  and  one  of  the  most  war- 
like of  the  five  Iroquois  tribes;  and  its  site  was  on  or  near  the  lakes  of  Central 
New  York,  perhaps  Lake  Canandaigua.  Champlain  describes  its  defensive 
works  as  much  stronger  than  those  of  the  Huron  villages.  They  consisted  of 
four  concentric  rows  of  palisades,  formed  of  trunks  and  trees,  thirty  feet  high, 
each  aslant  in  the  earth  and  intersecting  each  other  near  the  top,  where  they 
supported  a  kind  of  gallery,  well  defended  by  shot-proof  timber  and  furnished 
with  wooden  gutters  for  quenching  fire.  A  pond  or  lake  which  washed  one 
side  of  the  palisade,  and  was  led  by  sluices  within  the  town,  gave  an  ample 
supply  of  water,  while  the  galleries  were  well  provided  with  magazines 
of  stones. 

Champlain  was  greatly  exasperated  at  the  desultory  and  futile  procedure 
of  his  Huron  allies.  At  their  evening  camp  in  the  adjacent  forest,  he  upbraided 
the  throng  of  chiefs  and  warriors  somewhat  sharply,  and,  having  finished  his 
admonition,  he  proceeded  to  instruct  them  in  the  art  of  war. 

In  the  morning,  aided  doubtless  by  his  ten  or  twelve  Frenchmen,  they 
Retook  themselves  with  alacrity  to  their  prescribed  task.  A  wooden  tower 
was  made,  high  enough  to  overlook  the  palisade,  and  large  enough  to  shelter 
four  or  five  marksmen.  Huge  wooden  shields,  or  movable  parapets,  like  the 
mantelets  of  the  Middle  Ages,  were  also  constructed.  Four  hours  sufficed  to 
finish  the  work,  and  then  the  assault  began.     Two  hundred  of  the  strongest 


CATHOLIC  CIIUKCH  IN  AMERICA  igj 

warriors,  witli  unwontccl  prowess,  dragged  the  tower  forward  and  plantetl  it 
within  a  pike's  length  of  the  palisade.  Three  arquebusiers  mounted  to  the 
top  and  opened  a  raking  fire  along  the  galleries,  now  thronged  with  wild  and 
naked  defenders. 

But  nothing  could  restrain  the  ungovernable  Ilurons.  They  abandoned 
their  mantelets,  and,  deaf  to  every  conimanil,  swarmed  out  like  bees  upon  the 
open  field,  leaped,  shouted,  shrieked  tlieir  war-cries  and  shot  off  their  arrows; 
while  the  Iroquois,  hurling  defiance  from  their  ramparts,  sent  back  a  shower 
of  stones  and  arrows  in  reply.  A  Huron,  bolder  than  the  rest,  ran  forward 
with  firebrands  to  burn  the  palisade,  and  others  followed  with  wood  to  feed 
the  flame.  But  it  was  stupidly  kindled  on  the  leeward  side,  without  the  pro- 
tecting shields  designed  to  cover  it;  and  torrents  of  water  pouring  down  from 
the  gutters  above  quickly  extinguished  it.  The  confusion  was  redoubled. 
Champlain  strove  in  vain  to  restore  order.  Each  warrior  was  yelling  at  the 
top  of  his  throat,  and  his  voice  was  drowned  in  the  outrageous  din.  Think- 
ing, as  he  says,  that  his  head  would  split  with  shouting,  he  gave  over  the 
attempt,  and  busied  himself  and  his  men  with  picking  off  the  Iroquois  along 
their  lamparts. 

The  attack  lasted  three  hours,  when  the  assailants  fell  back  to  their  forti- 
fied camp,  with  seventeen  warriors  wounded.  Champlain,  too,  had  received 
an  arrow  in  his  knee  and  another  in  his  leg,  which,  for  the  time,  disabled 
him.  He  was  urgent,  however,  to  renew  the  attack;  while  the  Ilurons, crest- 
fallen and  disheartened,  refused  to  move  from  their  camp  unless  the  five 
hundred  allies  for  some  time  expected  should  appear. 

They  waitcil  five  days  in  vain,  beguiling  the  interval  with  frequent 
skirmishes,  in  which  they  were  always  worsted,  then  began  hastily  to  retreat 
in  confused  lines  along  the  somber  foiest  pathways,  while  the  Iroquois,  sallv- 
ing  from  their  stronghokl,  showered  arrows  on  their  flanks  and  rear.  Their 
wounded — Champlain  among  the  rest — had  been  packed  in  baskets  for  trans- 
portation, each  borne  on  the  back  of  a  strong  warrior,  "bundled  in  a  heap," 
says  Champlain,  "  doubled  and  strapped  together  after  such  a  fashion  that 
one  could  move  no  more  than  an  infant  in  swaddling-clothes.  ...  I  lost 
all  pMtiiiice,  and  as  soon  as  I  could  bear  my  weight  I  got  out  of  this  prison, 
or,  to  speak  plainly,  out  of  hell." 

At  length  the  dismal  march  was  endnl.  They  reached  the  spot  where 
their  canoes  were  hidden,  fomu!  them  untouched,  embarked,  and  recrossed  to 
the  nortlieifi  shore  of  Lake  Ontario.     The  Ilurons  had  promised  Champlain 


196  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  01'  THE 

an  escort  to  Quebec;  but,  as  the  chiefs  had  little  power,  in  peace  or  war, 
beyond  that  of  persuasion,  eaCh  warrior  found  good  reason  for  refusing  to  go 
or  lend  his  canoe. 

Champlain,  too,  had  lost  prestige.  The  "man  with  the  iron  breast" 
had  proved  not  inseparably  wedded  to  victor}- ;  and  tiiough  the  fault  was 
their  own,  yet  not  the  less  was  the  luster  of  their  hero  tarnished.  There  was 
no  alternative.  He  must  winter  with  the  Hurons.  The  great  war-party 
broke  into  fragments,  each  band  betaking  itself  to  its  hunting-ground.  A 
chief  named  Durantal  offered  Champlain  the  shelter  of  his  lodge,  and  he  was 
fain  to  accept  it. 

Winter  wore  away,  spring  came,  and  finally  summer.  It  was,  in  truth, 
a  novel  and  stirring  time  for  Champlain.  Here  his  many  adventures  "  by 
flood  and  field"  cannot  be  recounted.  Our  space  is  too  small.  We  must 
hasten  on.  It  was  the  nth  of  July,  1616,  as  he  again  trod  the  rude  streets  of 
Quebec,  accomjjanied  by  his  Huron  host,  Durantal.  Great  were  the  rejoic- 
ings, for  the  Indians  had  reported  that  he  was  dead.  Father  Le  Caron — who 
had  retured  a  little  before  him — welcomed  the  brave  companion  of  his  toils; 
and  the  Franciscans  offered  up  a  solemn  Mass  of  thanksgiving  in  their  little 
chapel. 

Serious  work  now  remained  for  Champlain.  In  his  absence  the  puny 
colony  had  been  daily  wasting  away,  and,  without  the  constant  support  of  his 
strong  arm  and  magic  presence,  it  must  soon  ingloriously  perish.  He  was 
the  life  and  soul  of  Canada,  yet  there  were  colonists  on  whose  friendship  he 
dare  not  count.     His  was  a  stern  and  thankless  toil. 

The  picture  of  affairs  given  by  Parkman  is  dismal.  At  Quebec  all  was 
discord  and  disorder.  Champlain  was  the  nominal  commander;  but  the 
actual  authority  was  with  the  merchants,  who  held,  excepting  the  Franciscan 
fathers,  nearly  every  one  in  their  pay.  Each  was  jealous  of  the  other,  but 
all  were  imited  in  a  common  jealousy  of  Champlain.  From  a  short-sighted 
view  of  self-interest,  they  sought  to  check  the  colonization  which  they  were 
pledged  to  promote.  Some  of  the  merchants  were  of  Rouen,  some  of  St. 
Malo ;  some  were  Catholics,  some  were  Huguenots.  Hence  unceasing  bicker- 
ings. All  exercise  of  the  reformed  religion,  on  land  or  water,  was  pro- 
hibited within  the  limits  of  New  France;  but  the  Huguenots  set  the  prohibi- 
tion at  naught,  roaring  their  heretical  psalmody  with  such  vigor  from  their 
ships  in  the  river  that  the  unhallowed  strains  polluted  the  ears  of  the  Indians 
on  shore.     Champlain,  in  this  singularly  trying  position,  displayed  a  mingled 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  I97 

zeal  and  fortitude.     lie  went  every  year  to  France,  laboring  for  the  interests 
of  the  colony. 

The  founder  of  Quebec  remained  in  France  during  1619.  In  the  inidst 
of  the  events  which  then  agitated  that  kingdom,  it  was  scarcely  to  be  ex- 
pected that  the  distant  colony  of  Canada  would  command  much  attention. 
Still  the  young  Duke  de  Montmorency  purchased  from  the  Prince  of  Cond6 
the  profitable  lieutenancy  of  the  colony.  He  paid  1 1,000  crowns  for  the  bar- 
gain, and  constituted  Champlain  his  lieutenant-general. 

Louis  XIII,  recognizing  the  services  rendered  to  religion  and  to  France, 
addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  intrepid  explorer: 

"  Champlain:  Having  learned  of  the  commission  which  you  have  received 
from  my  cousin,  the  Duke  de  Montmorency,  admiral  of  France,  and  my 
viceroy  in  Canada,  to  proceed  to  that  country  as  his  lieutenant,  and  to  have 
a  care  for  what  concerns  my  service,  I  have  great  pleasure  in  addressing  you 
this  letter,  in  order  to  assure  you  how  very  agreeable  shall  be  the  services 
which  you  will  render  me  on  this  occasion,  above  all,  if  you  preserve  the 
colony  in  my  obedience,  leading  the  inhabitants  to  live  in  conformity  with 
the  laws  of  France,  and  having  due  care  for  the  progress  of  the  Catholic 
Faith,  to  the  end  that  you  may  thereby  call  down  the  Divine  blessing  on 
yourself,  and  that  you  may  succeed  in  all  your  enterprises  for  the  glory  of 
God,  whom  I  beseech  to  keep  you  in  His  holy  Grace.  Given  at  Paris,  the 
7th  day  of  May,  1620." 

The  prospects  of  the  colony  were  growing  brighter.  Champlain  en- 
gaged a  number  of  persons  to  emigrate  with  him  to  Canada,  and  he  even  de- 
cided to  make  his  own  permanent  residence  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
He  sailed  from  France,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  several  of  her  relations, 
and  landed  at  Quebec  in  the  summer  of  1620.  The  governor  was  received 
with  every  mark  of  joy  and  respect.  A  solemn  T'e  Dciun  was  chanted  in  the 
chapel  of  the  Franciscans,  and  new  life  and  happiness  seemed  to  be  infused 
into  the  rough  motley  society  of  the  little  rock  built  capital    of  Canada. 

During  the  four  years  that  Mailame  De  Champlain  remained  in  Canada, 
she  learned  the  language  of  the  Algonquins,  taught  the  little  savages  the 
catechism,  and  shed  a  happy  influence  around  her.  Immigration  began  to 
swell  tiic  number  of  iniiabitants  A  settlement  was  formed  at  Three  Rivers. 
The  capital  was  making  fair  progress;  but  religious  troubles  blasted  the  hap- 
piness of  the  colony.  Misfortune,  however,  did  her  worst,  when  the  sorely- 
tried  Champlain  was  obliged  to  surrender  Quebec  to  an  English  armamen: 
under  Sir  David  Kirk  in  1629. 


198    '  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

The  great  pioneer  hastened  to  Paris,  and  used  h\>  efforts  so  successfully 
that  Canada  was  restored  to  France  three  years  later.  In  1633,  he  lainkd  at 
Quebec,  bearing  his  commission  as  governor  of  Canada.  The  Indians  were 
delighted.  The  colony  grew  in  numbers  and  prosperity.  A  band  of  Jesuit 
fathers  arrived ;  and  the  illustrious  De  Briibcuf  and  two  others  prepared  to 
labor  in  the  Huron  country.  Champlain  introduced  them  to  a  party  of  ciiiefs 
and  warriors.  "  These  are  our  fathers,"  said  the  venerable  man.  "  We  love 
them  more  than  we  love  ourselves.  The  whole  French  nation  honors  them. 
They  do  not  go  among  you  for  your  furs.  Tlicy  have  left  their  friends  and 
their  country  to  show  you  the  way  to  Heaven.  If  you  love  the  French  as 
you  say  you  love  them,  then  love  and  honor  these,  our  fathers."  The  won- 
derful story  of  the  Huron  mission  will  be  found  in  a  later  chapter. 

The  Jesuits  founded  at  Quebec  the  first  college  in  the  New  World  north 
of  Mexico.  "Its  foundation  was  laid,"  writes  Bancroft,  "under  happy  aus- 
pices, in  1635,  just  before  Champlain  passed  from  among  the  living;  and  two 
years  before  the  immigration  of  John  Harvard,  and  one  year  before  the  gen- 
eral court  of  Massachusetts  had  made  provisions  for  a  college." 

The  angel  of  death  came  in  the  midst  of  those  happy  circumstances.  It 
was  on  Christmas  Day,  1635,  that  the  luight,  heroic  spirit  of  Samuel  de 
Champlain,  fortified  by  all  the  consolations  of  that  holy  religion  he  had  loved 
and  practiced  so  well,  "b.ade  adieu  to  the  frame  it  had  animated,  and  to  the 
rugged  cliff  where  he  had  toiled  so  long  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  a  Chris- 
tian empire." 

"  Of  the  pioneers  of  the  North  American  forests,"  says  Parkman,  "his 
name  stands  foremost  on  the  list.  It  was  he  who  struck  the  deepest  and  bold- 
est strokes  into  the  heart  of  their  pristine  barbarism.  At  Chantilly,  at  Fon- 
tp.inebleau,  at  Paris,  in  the  cabinets  of  princes  and  royalty  itself,  mingling  with 
the  proud  vanities  of  the  court;  then  lost  from  sight  in  the  depths  of  Can- 
ada, the  companion  of  savages,  sharer  of  their  toils,  privations,  and  battles, 
more  hardy,  patient,  and  bold  than  they — such  for  successive  years  were  the 
alternations  of  his  life.  Here,  while  New  England  was  a  solitude,  and  the 
settlers  of  Virginia  scarcely  dared  venture  inland  beyond  the  sound  of  cannon- 
shot,  Champlain  was  planting  on  shores  and  islands  the  emblems  of  his 
Faith." 


Chapter  XI. 


The  rnissions  In  IDaine. 


irow  TiiK  French  Missionariks  Worked. — Arrivai,  on  the  Shores  of  Mainb. 
—A  Young  and  Courtly  Knvoy.— Sailing  ok  Two  Apostles. — Exploits  op 
THE  Pirate  Argall. — Treachery  Ruins  St.  Sauveur's.— The  Cross  on  Ken- 
nebec River. — 1'ather  Rale  in  the  Field.— Labors,  Tlots  and  Persecu- 
tions.— Murder  of  Rale. — Woe  of  Abnaki  Indians. — Later  Apostles  and 
Labors. 


ICFORE  giving  an  account  of  the  first  regular  missionary  establish- 
ments of  the  French,  it   will    be    useful   to   indicate   some  general 

f!^^  features  in  which  they  differed  from  tlinse  of  the  Spaniards. 
^^  ,     .       :  .      . 

A  The   Spanish  missionaries,  as   we  have  seen,  first  went  alone 

d  .... 

y  to  found  missions  in  Florida  and  New  Mexico,  and  failing,  adopteil 
another  system,  by  which  each  missionary  corps  consisted  of  mis- 
sionaries witii  Spanish  soldiers,  Indians  already  converted,  and  mechanics. 
In  this  way  the  missions  of  New  Mexico,  Texas,  anil  California  were 
carrieil  out. 

The  French  plan  was  different:  the  missionary  planted  his  cross  among 
tiie  iivathen,  and  won  all  that  he  could  to  the  faith,  anil  whenever  he  could 
f(pmu-d  a  distinct  villatje  of  Christians;  but  these  villages  were  never  like  the 
mission  of  the  .Spanish  missionaries:  the  French  priest  left  his  neophyte  free — 

'99 


200  TRIALS  AKD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

setting  him  iin  t:isl<,  buiKliiiLj  no  splendid  edillccs  liy  liis  toil.  The  Spanish 
missions  contained  its  workshops,  dormitories,  infirmaries,  and  granaries;  the 
French  mission  was  a  fort  against  hostile  attack,  and  inclosed  merely  the 
church,  mission-house,  and  mechanics'  sheds — the  Indians  all  living  without 
in  cabins  or  houses,  and  entering  the  fort  only  in  time  of  danger. 

The  missions  of  the  French,  then,  bear  a  new  aspect:  tribes  remain 
tribes — the  Indian  free  in  his  idolatry  was  free  as  a  Christian.  As  of  the 
Spanish  missionaries,  so  of  the  French,  every  authority  bears  testimony  to 
their  worth  ;  many  were  men  of  eminent  sanctity  and  devotedness,  and 
America  no  less  than  Catholicity  claims  them  as  her  heroes. 

The  Franciscan,  Dominican,  and  Jesuit,  bore  the  heat  and  burden  of  the 
day,  and  reaped  the  most  bountiful  harvest  in  that  part  of  North  America 
now  known  as  the  State  of  Maine;  and  the  first  mission  in  that  neighbor- 
hood was  planted  at  Mt.  Desert,  and  called  St.  Sauveur.  A  hotel  at  Bar 
Harbor  is  at  present  so  named,  but  not  one  in  a  hundred  of  tlie  numerous 
guests  who  cross  its  threshold  knows  the  reason  of  the  French  name  of  their 
temporary  abiding-place. 

This  reason,  and  the  facts  connected  therewith,  will  prove  of  interest  to 
our  readers.  In  1610  Marie  de  Mddicis  was  regent  of  France.  The  king, 
the  great  Henry  IV,  had  been  assassinated  in  the  streets  of  Paris  in  the  pre- 
vious month  of  May.  Sully  was  dismissed  from  court.  All  was  confusion 
and  dissension.  Twelve  years  of  peace  and  the  judicious  rule  of  the  king  had 
paid  the  national  debt  and  filled  the  treasury. 

The  famous  Father  Cotton,  confessor  of  the  late  king,  was  still  power- 
ful at  court.  He  laid  before  the  queen  the  facts  that  Henry  IV  had  been 
deeply  interested  in  the  establishment  of  the  Jesuit  order  in  Acadia,  and  had 
evinced  a  tangible  proof  of  that  interest  in  the  bestowal  of  a  grant  of  two 
thousand  livres  per  annum. 

The  ambitious  queen  listened  indulgently,  with  a  heart  softened,  possibly, 
by  recent  sorrows,  and  consented  to  receive  the  son  of  the  Baron  Poutrin- 
court,  who  had  just  returned  from  the  New  World,  where  he  had  left  his 
father  with  Champlain.  Father  Cotton  ushered  the  handsome  youth  into  the 
presence  of  the  stately  queen  and  her  attendant  ladies.  Young  Biencourt  at 
first  stood  silent  and  abashed,  but  as  the  ladies  gathered  about  him  and  plied 
him  with  questions,  soon  forgot  himself  and  told  wondrous  tales  of  thedusky 
savages — of  their  strange  customs  and  of  their  eagerness  for  instruction  in  the 
true  faith.     He  displayed   the  baptismal  register   of   the  converts  of  Father 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


20I 


Fl^che,  and  imploicd  the  sympathy  and  aid  of  these  glittering  dames,  anJ 
not  in  vain;  for,  iircd  wiih  pious  emulation,  they  tore  the  flashing  jewels 
from  their  ears  and  throats.  Among  these  ladies  was  one  whose  history  and 
influence  were  so  remarkable  that  we  must  furnish  some  account  of  her. 

Antoinette  de  Pons,  Marchioness  De  Guercheville,  had  been  famed 
throughout  Franco,  not  only  for  her  grace  and  beauty,  but  for  qualities  more 
rare  at  the  court  where  her  youth  had  been  passed. 

When  Antoinette  was  La  Duchesse  de  Rochefoucauld,  the  king  begged 
her  to  accept  a  position  near  the  queen.  "  Madame,"  he  said,  as  he  presented 
her  to  Marie  de  Medicis,  "I  give  you  a  lady  of  honor  who  is  a  lady  of  honor 
indeed." 

Twenty  years  had  come  and  gone.  The  youthful  beauty  of  the  mar- 
chioness had  faded,  but  she  was  fair  and  stately  still,  and  one  of  the  most  bril- 
liant ornaments  of  the  brilliant  court;  and  yet  she  was  not  altogether  worldly. 
Again  a  widow  and  without  children,  she  had  become  sincerely  religious,  and 
threw  herself,  heart  and  soul  into  the  American  missions,  and  was  restrained 
only  by  the  positive  commands  of  her  mistress,  the  queen,  from  herself  seek- 
ing the  New  World. 

Day  and  night  she  thought  of  these  perishing  souls.  On  her  knees  in 
her  oratory  she  prayed  for  the  Indians,  and  contented  herself  not  with  this 
alone.  From  the  queen  and  from  the  ladies  of  the  court  she  obtained  money 
and  jewels  that  could  be  converted  into  money.  Charlevoix  tells  us  that  the 
only  dilliculty  was  to  restrain  her  ardor  within  reasonable  bounds. 

Two  French  priests,  Paul  Biard  and  En^mond  Massd,  were  sent  to 
Dieppe,  there  to  tatce  passage  for  the  colonies.  The  vessel  was  engaged  by 
Poutrincourt  and  his  associates,  and  was  partially  owned  by  two  Huguenot 
merchants,  who  persistently  and  with  indignation  refused  to  permit  the  em- 
barkation of  the  priests.  No  entreaties  or  representations  availed,  and  finally 
the  marchioness  bought  out  the  interest  of  the  two  Protestant  merchants  in 
the  vessel  and  cargo,  and  transferred  it  to  the  priests  as  a  fund  for  their  sup- 
port. 

At  last  the  fathers  set  sail  on  the  26th  of  January,  161 1.  Their  troubles, 
however,  were  by  no  means  over;  for  Biencourt,  a  mere  lad,  clothed  in  a  lit- 
tle brief  authority — manly,  it  is  true,  beyond  his  years — hampered  them  at 
every  turn.  They  arrived  at  Port  Royal  in  June,  after  a  hazardous  and  tem- 
pestuous voyage,  having  seen,  as  Father  Biard  writes,  icebergs  taller  and  lar. 
ger  than  the  Church  of  Notre  Dome.     The   fathers  became  iliscouraged   by 


202  TRIALS  AND  TKIUMI'IIS  01-   THE 

the  constant  interference  of  young  Biencourt,  and  cleterinined  to  n.turn  to 
Europe,  unless  they  could,  with  Madame  De  Guerchcville's  aid,  found  a  mis- 
sion colony  in  some  other  spot. 

Their  zealous  protectress  obtained  from  De  Monts— who,  thou^di  a 
Protestant,  had  erected  six  years  before  the  first  cross  in  Maine  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Kennebec — a  transfer  of  all  his  claims  to  the  lands  of  Acadia,  and  soon 
sent  out  a  small  vessel  with  forty  colonists,  commanded  by  La  Saussaye,  a 
nobleman,  and  having  on  board  two  Jesuit  priests,  Fathers  Du  Thet  and 
Quentin. 

It  was  on  the  ist  of  March,  1613,  that  tliis  vessel  loft  Ilonfleur,  laden 
with  supplies,  and  followed  by  prayers  and  benedictions. 

On  the  l6th  of  May  La  Saussaye  reached  Port  Royal,  and  there  took  on 
board  Fathers  Mass6  and  Biard,  and  then  set  sail  for  the  Penobscot.  A 
heavy  fog  arose  and  encompassed  them  about;  if  it  lifted  for  a  mmnont,  il 
was  but  to  show  them  a  white  gleam  of  distant  breakers  or  a  dark,  overhang- 
ing cliff. 

"  Our  prayers  were  heard,"  wrote  Biard,  "ami  at  night  tlie  stars  came 
out,  and  the  morning  sun  devoured  the  fogs,  and  we  found  ourselves  lying  in 
Frenchman's  Bay  opposite  Mt.  Desert." 

Mt.  Desert  Island  had  been  visited  and  so  named  by  Cliamplain  in  1604, 
and  Frencliman's  Bay  gained  its  title  from  a  singular  incident  that  had  there 
taken  place  in  the  same  spring. 

De  Monts  had  broken  up  his  winter  encampment  at  St.  Croix.  Among 
his  company  was  a  )'oung  French  ecclesiastic,  Nicholas  d'Aubri,  who,  to 
gratify  his  curiosity  in  regard  to  the  products  of  the  soil  in  this  new  and 
strange  countrj',  insisted  on  being  set  ashore  for  a  rami)le  of  a  few  hours.  lie 
lost  his  way,  and  the  boatmen,  after  an  anxious  searcli,  were  compelled  to 
leave  him.  For  eighteen  days  the  young  student  wandered  through  woods, 
subsisting  on  berries  and  the  roots  of  the  plant  known  as  Solomon's  Seal. 
He,  however,  kept  carefully  near  the  shore,  and  at  the  end  of  this  time  he 
distinguished  a  sail  in  the  distance.  Signaling  this,  he  was  fortunate  enough 
to  be  taken  off  by  the  same  crew  that  had  landed  him.  On  these  bleak  sliores 
the  colonists  decided  to  make  their  future  home,  and,  with  singular  infelicity, 
selected  them  as  the  site  of  the  new  colony.  It  is  inconceivable  how  Father 
Biard,  v/ho  had  already  spent  some  time  in  the  New  World,  could  have  failed 
to  suggest  to  La  Saussaye  and  to  their  jiatroness,  that  a  colony,  to  be  a  suc- 
cess, must  be  not  only  in  a   spot   easily  accessible  to  France,  but  that  a  final) 


CATHOLIC  CIll'RCH  IN  AMERICA  203 

force  of  armed  men  was  imperative;  for,  to  Biard's  own  knowledge,  the  En- 
glish had  already  seized  several  French  vessels  in  that  vicinity. 

On  these  frowning  shores  La  Saussayc  landed,  and  erected  a  cross,  and 
displayed  the  escutcheon  of  Madame  De  Guercheville;  the  fathers  offered  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  and  gave  to  the  little  settlement  the  name  of  St. 
Sauvem',  or  Holy  Savior. 

Four  tents — the  gift  of  the  queen — shone  white  in  the  soft  spring  sun- 
shine. The  largest  of  these  was  nsed  as  a  chapel,  the  decorations  of  which, 
with  the  silver  vessels  for  the  celebration  of  the  Mass,  and  the  rich  vestments, 
were  presented  by  Henrictte,  Marchioness  of  Verneuil. 

While  the  colonists  were  raising  a  little  fort  and  houses.  Father  Biard, 
with  Lieut.  La  Molte,  landed  on  the  coast  and  advanced  into  the  interior 
of  the  country,  in  order  to  explore  it  and  if  possible  open  friendly  communi- 
cations with  the  natives.  When  they  at  last  descried  a  village,  their  ears 
were  saluted  by  fearful  yells  and  cries,  and  supposing  it  to  be  a  funeral  cere- 
mony they  hastened  on  till  they  met  an  Indian,  who  told  them  that  a  child 
was  dying.  In  hopes  of  arriving  in  time  to  baptize  it,  the  missionary  ran  with 
all  speed,  and  on  reaching  the  village  found  all  ranged  in  a  double  line,  with 
the  father  of  the  child  at  the  end,  holding  the  little  sufferer  in  his  arms.  A' 
every  sigh  it  uttered  he  gave  a  fearfnl  yell,  which,  taken  up  and  repeated  on 
either  sitle,  produced  the  noise  which  had  attracted  the  missionary.  Hiaid, 
who  with  Mass(5  h.ad  made  some  progress  in  the  Algonquin  at  Port  Royal, 
advanced  to  the  father  and  asked  him  whether  he  was  ivilling  to  have  his  child 
baptized.  He  silently  laid  it  in  the  arms  of  the  missionary,  who,  handing  it 
to  La  Motte,  ran  for  water  and  baptized  it,  amid  the  silent  wonder  of  the  In- 
dians. He  then  knelt  and  implored  the  Almighty  to  vouchsafe  some  sign  of 
his  power  in  order  to  confirm  his  ministry  in  the  eyes  of  this  blind  but  docile 
people.  His  prayer  was  not  refused.  The  child,  being  now  handed  over  to 
its  mother,  was  to  all  appearance  well,  and  applied  its  lips  to  her  bieast.  So 
striking  a  wonder  disposed  all  to  receive  the  missionaries  as  men  of  superior 
power;  and,  grateful  to  God,  with  a  heart  elated  by  hope,  Father  Biard  re- 
turned to  St.  Savior's.  The  fort  was  soon  finisheil;  the  various  articles  were 
landed;  those  who  were  not  to  remain  prepared  to  embark,  and  the  vessel, 
all  ready  for  sea,  lay  at  anchor,  when  a  storm  arose  which  annihilated  all  their 
hopes. 

This  storm  had  been  felt  twenty-four  hours  earlier  off  the  Isles  of  Shoals 
by  a  British  vessel  commaniled  by  one   Samuel  Argall.     Thick   fogs    bewil- 


204  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  01-   THE 

dcicd  hiin,  ami  a  strong  winJ  drove  him  to  the  northeast,  and  wlien  the 
weather  cleared  Argall  found  himself  off  the  coast  of  Maine.  Canoes  came 
out  like  flocks  of  birds  from  each  small  bay.  The  Indians,  who  were  all  of 
the  Algonquin  tribe  called  Abnakis,  climbed  the  ship's  side,  and  greeted  the 
new-comers  with  such  amazing  bows  and  flourishes  that  Argall,  with  his  na- 
tive acuteness,  felt  certain  that  they  could  have  learned  them  only  from  the 
French,  who  could  not  be  far  away.  Argall  plied  the  Indians  with  cunning 
questions,  and  soon  learned  of  the  new  settlement.  He  resolved  to  in\esti- 
gate  farther,  and  set  sail  for  the  wild  heights  of  Mt.  Desert.  With  infinite 
patience  he  crept  along  through  the  many  islands,  and,  rounding  the  Porcu- 
pines, saw  a  small  ship  anchored  in  the  bay.  At  the  same  moment  the 
French  saw  the  English  ship  bearing  down  upon  them  "swifter  than  an  ar- 
row," writes  Father  Biard,  "  with  every  sail  set,  and  the  English  flags  stream- 
ing from  masthead  and  stern." 

La  Saussaye  was  within  the  fort,  Lieut.  La  Motte  on  boanl  with  Father 
Du  Thet,  an  ensign,  and  a  sergeant.  Argall  bore  down  amid  a  bewildering 
din  of  drums  and  trumpets.  "  Fire!"  cried  La  Motte.  Alas!  the  gunner  was 
on  shore.     Father  Du  Thet  seized  and  applietl  the  match. 

Another  scathing  discharge  of  musketry  and  the  brave  priest  lay  de.ad. 
He  had  his  wish;  for  the  day  before  he  left  France  he  praj'ed  with  uplifted 
hands  that  he  might  not  return,  but  perish  on  that  holy  enterprise.  He  was 
buried  the  following  day  at  the  foot  of  the  rough  cross  he  had  helped 
to  erect. 

La  Motte,  clear-sighted  enough  to  see  the  utter  uselessness  of  any  further 
attempt  at  defense,  surrendered,  and  Argall  took  possession  of  the  vessel  and 
of  La  Saussaye's  papers,  from  among  which  he  abstracted  the  royal  com- 
mission, 

St.  Savior's  was  now  a  ruin — the  broken  cross  alone  remained 
.above  the  body  of  Du  Thet  to  guard  that  land  for  Catholicity;  all  was 
silent — no  hymn,  no  voice  of  prayer;  no  savages  reclaimed  for  God  and 
society  were  gathered  there.  Thus  the  first  Abnaki  mission  was  crushed  in 
its  very  cradle  by  men  who  founded  a  colony  in  which  the  gospel  was  never 
announced  to  the  aborigines. 

On  La  Saussaye's  return  from  the  woods,  where  he  had  retreated  with 
the  colonists,  he  was  met  by  Argall,  who  informed  him  that  the  country  be- 
longed to  his  master,  King  James,  and  finally  asked  to  see  his  commission. 
In  vain  did  the  French  nobleman  search  for  it.     Argall's  courtesy  changed  to 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  fN  AMERICA 


20$ 


f/iath ;  he  accused  the  ollicci"  of  piracy,  and  ordered  the  settlement  to  be 
given  up  to  pillage,  but  offered  to  take  any  of  the  settlers  who  had  a  trade 
back  to  Virginia  with  him,  promising  them  protection.  Argall  counted, 
however,  without  his  host;  for  on  reaching  Jamestown  the  governor  swore 
that  the  French  priests  should  be  hung.  Useless  were  Argall's  remonstrances, 
and  finally,  seeing  no  other  way  to  save  the  lives  of  the  fathers,  he  produced 
the  commission  and  acknowledged  his  stratagem. 

The  wrath  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale  was  unappeased,  but  the  lives  of  the 
priests  were,  of  course,  safe.  lie  despatched  Argall  with  two  additional  ships 
back  to  Mt.  Desert,  with  orders  to  cut  down  the  cross  and  level  the  defenses. 

Father  Biard  was  on  board,  as  well  as  Father  Mass^;  they,  with  refined 
cruelty,  being  sent  to  witness  the  destruction  of  their  hopes. 

This  work  of  destruction  completed,  Argall  set  sail  for  Virginia.  Again 
a  storm  arose,  and  the  vessel  on  which  were  the  ecclesiastics  was  driven  to  the 
Azores.  Here  the  Jesuits,  who  had  been  so  grossly  ill-treated,  had  but  a  few 
words  to  say  to  be  avenged.  The  captain  of  the  vessel  was  not  without  un- 
easiness, and  entreated  the  priests  to  remain  in  concealment  when  the  vessel 
was  visited  by  the  authorities.  This  visit  over,  the  English  purchased  all 
they  needed  and  weighed  anchor  for  England.  Arrived  there,  a  new 
difficulty  occurred;  for  there  was  no  commission  to  show.  The  captain  was 
treated  as  a  pirate,  thrown  into  prison,  and  released  only  on  the  testimony  of 
the  Jesuit  fathers,  who  thus  returned  good  for  evil. 

Father  Biard  hastened  to  France,  where  he  became  professor  of  theology 
at  Lyons,  and  died  at  Avignon  on  the  17th  of  November,  1622.  Father  Mass«5 
returned  to  Canada,  where  he  labored  without ceasmg  until  hisdeath,  in  1646. 

With  the  destruction  of  St.  Sauveur,  the  pious  designs  of  Madame  De 
Guercheville  seem  to  have  perished.  At  any  rate,  the  most  diligent  research 
fails  to  find  her  name  again  in  the  annals  of  that  time.  Probably  the 
troubled  state  of  France  made  it  impossible  for  her  to  provide  the  sinews  of 
war  or  of  evangelization.  Nevertheless,  the  good  seed  was  planted,  anil 
zeal  for  the  mission  cause  again  revived  in  Europe,  particularly  in  the  Society 
of  Jesus.  Young  men  left  court  and  camp  to  share  the  privations  and  life 
of  the  missionaries.  Even  the  convents  partook  of  the  general  enthusiasm, 
and  "Ursuline  nuns  came  to  show  tiie  Intlians  Christianity  in  daily  life,  minis- 
tering to  the  sick  and  instructing  the  young. 

Many  years  after  the  melancholy  failure  of  the  mission  at  Mt.  Desert, 
an  apparent  accident  recalled  the  Jesuit  fathers  to  the  coast  of   Maine. 


206  TRIALS  A\'D  TRIUMPHS  OV  THE 

III  i6.p  there  was  a  mission  at  Sillcry,  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  where  had 
been  gathered  together  a  large  nunil>cr  of  Indian  converts,  who  lived,  with 
their  families  about  them,  in  peace  and  harmony  under  the  watchful  care  of 
the  kind  fathers.  Among  these  converts  was  a  chief  who,  to  rescue  some  of 
his  tribe  who  had  been  taken  prisoners,  started  off  through  the  pathless 
wilderness,  and  rmally  reached  the  English  at  Coussinoe,  now  known  as 
Augusta,  on  the  Kennebec. 

There  the  Indian  convert  so  extolled  the  Christian  faith  and  its  mighty 
promises  that  he  took  back  witii  him  several  of  the  tribe.  These  were 
baptized  at  yillery,  aiu!  became  faithful  servants  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Chri>t. 
In  consequence  of  the  entreaties  of  these  converts.  Father  Gabriel  Druillettes 
was  sent  to  the  lonely  Kennebec. 

Here  he  built  a  chapel  of  fir-trees  in  a  place  now  known  as  Norridge- 
wock,  a  lovely,  secluded  spot.  Some  years  before  Father  Biard  had  been 
there  for  a  few  weeks,  so  that  the  Abnakis  were  not  totally  unprepared  to 
receive  religious  instruction.  Father  Druillettes  was  greatly  blessed  in  his 
teaching,  and  converted  a  large  number,  inspiring  them  with  a  profound  love 
for  the  Catholic  faith,  which  the  English,  twenty  years  before,  had  failed  to 
do  for  the  Protestant  religion.  lie  taught  them  simple  prayers,  and  translated 
for  their  use,  into  their  own  dialect,  several  hymns.  The  savages  even 
learned  to  sing,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  solemn  strains  of  the  Dies  Irtc 
awakened  strange  echoes  in  the  primeval  forests. 

Even  the  English,  biased  as  they  were  against  the  Catholics,  watcheil 
the  good  accomplished  by  the  f;iithful  servant  of  the  great  Master,  and 
learned  to  regard  his  coming  as  a  great  blessing,  though  at  this  very  time  the 
stern  Puritans  at  Plymouth  were  enacting  cruel  laws  against  his  order. 

When  the  Abnakis  went  to  Moosehead  Lake  to  hunt  and  fish,  Father 
Druillettes  went  with  them,  watching  over  the  Hock  with  unswerving  solici- 
tude. But  the  day  of  his  summons  to  Quebec  came,  and  a  general  feeling  of 
despair  overwhelmed  his  converts.  He  went,  and  the  Assumption  Mission 
was  deserted ;  for,  by  that  name,  as  it  was  asked  for  on  that  da}-,  was  tliis 
mission  always  designated. 

Year  after  year  the  Abnakis — for  so  were  called  the  aborigines  of 
Maine — sent  deputations  to  Quebec  to  entreat  the  return  of  their  beloved 
priest,  but  in  vain;  for  the  number  of  missionaries  was  at  that  time  very 
limited.  Finally,  in  1650,  Father  Druillettes  set  out  with  a  party  on  the  last 
day  of  August  for   the  tiresome  eight  days'  march  through  the  wilderness; 


CATllOl.lC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  207 

the  party  lost  their  way,  tlicir  provisions  were  gone,  and  it  was  not  until 
twenty-four  clays  afterwards  that  they  reached  Norridgewock,  the  chief 
Abnaki  village. 

All  tjie  tribe  were  forthwith  in  motion,  and,  amid  a  volley  of  firearms, 
the  chief  embraced  the  missionary,  crying:  "  I  see  well  that  the  Great  Spirit, 
who  rules  in  the  heavens,  deigns  to  look  favorably  on  us,  since  he  sends  us 
back  our  patriarch."  Universal  joy  prevailed:  men,  women,  children,  all 
sought  to  express  their  happiness  at  the  missionary's  return.  A  banquet  was 
spread  in  every  cabin,  and  he  was  forced  to  visit  all.  "  We  have  thee,  at 
last,"  they  cried;  "  thou  art  our  father,  our  patriarch,  our  countryman.  Thou 
livest  like  us,  thou  dwellest  with  us,  thou  art  an  Abnaki  like  us.  Thou 
bringest  back  Joy  to  all  the  country.  We  had  thought  of  leaving  this  land 
to  seek  thee,  for  many  have  dietl  in  thy  absence.  We  were  losing  all  hopes 
of  reaching  heaven.  Those  whom  thou  didst  instruct,  performed  all  they 
had  learned,  but  their  heart  was  weary,  for  it  sought  and  could  not  find  thee." 

On  every  side  he  heard  gentle  reproaches:  here  a  father  led  him  to  the 
cross-covered  grave  of  his  children,  whom  he  had  baptizctl  in  death,  yet 
fearetl  that  he  had  erred,  and  that  they  would  not  enjoy  eternal  life. 

From  a  letter  written  at  this  time  by  Father  Druillettes  we  transcribe 
the  following:  "  In  spite  of  all  that  is  painful  and  crucifying  to  nature  in  these 
missions,  there  are  also  great  joys  and  consolations.  More  plenteous  than  I 
can  ilescribe  are  those  I  feel,  to  see  that  the  seed  of  the  gospel  I  scattered 
here  four  j'ears  ago,  in  land  vvliich  for  so  many  centuries  has  lain  fallow,  or 
produced  only  thorns  and  brambles,  already  bears  fruit  so  worthy  of  the 
Lord."  Nothing  could  excel  the  veneration  and  affection  of  the  Indians  for 
their  missionary;  antl  when  an  Englishman  vehemently  accused  the  French 
priest  of  slandering  his  nation,  the  chiefs  hurried  to  Augusta,  and  warned  the 
authorities  to  take  heed  and  not  attack  their  father  even  in  words. 

The  following  spring  Father  Druillettes  was  sent  to  a  far-ilistant  station, 
and  years  elapsed  before  he  returned  lo  (Juebec,  where  lie  died  in  i6Si,i;t 
the  age  of  eighty-eight. 

About  this  time  two  brothers,  Vincent  anil  Jacques  Bigot,  men  of  rank 
and  fortune,  left  their  homes  in  sunny  France  to  share  the  toil  and  privations 
of  life  in  the  New  World.  They  placed  themselves  and  their  fortunes  in 
the  hands  of  the  superior  at  Quebec,  anil  were  sent  to  labor  in  the  foot- 
prints of  Father  Druillettes.  During  their  faithful  ministrations  at  Norridge- 
wock, the  chapel  built  by  their  predecessor  was  burned  by  the  English,  but 


2o8  TRIALS  A\D  TRIUMPHS  01-   THE 

was  rebuilt  in  16S7  by  English  workmen  sent  from  Boston,  according  to 
treaty  stipulations.  And  now  appears  upon  the  scene  the  stately  form  of  one 
of  the  greatest  men  of  that  age;  but  before  we  attempt  to  bring  before  our 
readers  the  character  and  acts  of  Sebastian  Rale,  we  must  beg  them  to  return 
from  Norridgewock,  the  scene  of  his  labors  and  martyrdom,  to  the  little 
village  of  Castine.  For  in  16SS  Father  Thury,  a  priest  of  the  diocese  of 
Quebec,  a  man  of  tact  and  ability,  had  gathered  about  him  a  band  of  converts 
at  Panawauski,  on  the  Penobscot.  This  settlement  was  protected  by  the 
Baron  Saint-Castine.  This  Saint-Castine  was  a  French  nobleman  and  a 
soldier  who  originally  went  to  Canada  in  command  of  a  regiment.  The 
regiment  was  disbanded,  and  Saint-Castine's  disappointed  ambition  and  a 
heart  sore  from  domestic  trials  decided  him,  rather  than  return  to  France,  to 
plunge  into  the  wilderness,  and  there,  far  from  kindred  and  nation,  create  for 
himself  a  new  home. 

After  a  while  the  baron  married  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  sachems  of 
the  Penobscot  Indians,  and  became  himself  a  sagamore  of  the  tribe.  The 
descendants  of  this  marriage  hold  at  the  present  day  some  jDortion  of  the 
JSaint-Castine  lands  at  Normandy. 

We  turn  to  Father  Sebastian  Rale,  S.J.,  who  left  his  native  France 
in  16S9  for  America.  After  remaining  for  nearly  two  years  in  Quebec,  he 
went  thence  to  Norridgewock.  He  found  the  Abnakis  nearly  all  converted, 
and  at  once  applied  himself  to  learning  their  dialect.  To  this  work  he 
brought  his  marvelous  patience  and  energy,  and  all  his  wondrous  insight 
into  human  nature.  He  began  his  dictionary,  and  erected  a  chapel  on 
the  spot  known  now  as  Indian  Old  Point.  This  chapel  he  supplied  witii  all 
the  decorations  calculated  to  engage  the  imagination  and  fix  the  wandering 
attention  of  the  untutored  savage.  The  women  contended  with  holy  emu- 
lation in  the  embellishment  of  the  sanctuary.  They  made  mats  of  the  soft 
and  brightly-tinted  plumage  of  the  forest  birds  and  of  the  white-breasted 
seagulls.  They  brought  offerings  of  huge  candles,  manufactured  from  the 
fragrant  wax  of  the  bayberry,  with  which  the  chapel  was  illuminated.  A 
couple  of  nuns  from  Montreal  made  a  brief  sojourn  at  Norridgewock,  that 
they  might  teach  the  Indian  women  to  sew  and  make  a  kind  of  lace  with 
which  to  adorn  the  altar.  Busied  with  his  dictionary  and  with  his  flock. 
Father  Rale  thus  passed  the  most  peaceful  days  of  his  life;  but  this  blessed 
quiet  ended  only  too  soon. 

In   1705   a   party  of  English,   under  the  command  of  a   Capt.   Hilton, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  205 

burst  fioin  out  the  forest,  attackiii}^  the  little  village  from  all  sides  at  otice, 
finishing  by  burning  the  chapel  and  every  hut.  The  Indians  vfere  absent  at 
the  time  of  this  valiant  attack,  but  on  their  return  quickly  raised  a  bark 
chapel  to  replace  their  handsome  church.  Soon  after,  their  beloved  mission- 
ary, on  a  painful  journey,  fell  and  broke  both  legs.  On  his  recovery  he 
returned  to  his  mission,  tiiough  doubly  exposed  to  danger,  for  the  English 
had  offered  a  reward  for  his  head,  and  used  every  effort  to  induce  the  Indians 
to  betray  him;  but  the  Abnakis  were  faithful,  and  all  the  expeditions  against 
this  mission  failed. 

About  the  same  time,  the  governor. general  of  New  England  sent  to  the 
lower  part  of  the  Kennebec  the  ablest  of  the  Boston  divines  to  instruct  the 
Indian  children.  As  Baxter's  (the  missionary )  salary  depended  on  his  suc- 
cess, he  neglected  no  means  that  could  attract. 

For  two  months  he  labored  in  vain.  His  caresses  and  little  gifts  were 
thrown  away;  for  he  made  not  one  convert. 

Father  Rale  wrote  to  Baxter  that  his  neophytes  were  good  Christians, 
but  far  from  .ible  in  disputes. 

This  same  letter,  which  was  of  some  length,  challenged  the  Protestant 
clergyman  to  a  discussion.  Baxter,  after  a  long  delay,  sent  a  brief  reply  in 
Latin  so  bad  that  the  learned  priest  says  it  was  impossible  to  understand  it. 

In  1717  the  Indian  chiefs  held  a  council.  The  governor  of  New  Eng- 
land offered  them  an  English  and  an  Indian  Bible,  and  Mr.  Baxter  as  their 
expounder. 

The  Abnakis  refused  them  one  and  all,  and  elected  to  adhere  to  their 
Catholic  faith, saying:  "All  people  love  their  own  priests!  Your  bibles  we 
do  not  care  for,  and  God  has  already  sent  us  teachers." 

Thus  years  passed  on  in  monotonous  labor.  The  only  relaxation  per- 
mitted to  himself  by  Father  Rale  was  the  work  on  his  dictionary.  The  con- 
verts venerated  their  priest;  their  keen  eyes  and  quick  instincts  saw  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  life,  tlie  reality  of  his  affection  for  them,  and  recognized  his  self- 
denial  and  generosity.  They  went  to  him  with  their  cares  and  their  sorrows, 
with  their  simple  griefs  and  simpler  pleasures.  He  listened  with  unaffected 
sympathy  and  interest.  No  envious  rival,  no  jealous  competitor,  no  heretical 
teacher,  disturbed  the  relations  between  pastor  and  lock.  So,  too,  it  was  but 
natural  that  they  should  look  to  him  for  advice  when  they  gathered  about 
their  council-fires. 

The  wrongs  which  the  Eastern  Indians  were  constantly  enduring  at  the 


210  TRIALS  .IXD  TRIUMPHS  01'   THE 

hands  of  the  EngHsh  settlers  kiiulled  to  a  I'viii^  Ihiinc  tlie  smoldering  hatred 
in  their  hearts,  which  they  sought  every  opportunity  of  wreaking  in  ven- 
geance on  their  foe.  Thus,  like  lightning  on  the  edge  of  the  horizon,  Ihcy 
hovered  on  the  frontier,  making  daring  forays  on  the  farms  of  the  settlers. 

It  was  not  unnatural  that  the  English,  bristling  with  prejudices  against 
the  French,  and  still  more  against  Catholics,  should  have  seen  fit  to  look  on 
Father  Rale  as  the  instigator  of  all  these  attacks,  forgetting — what  is  unde- 
niably true — that  Father  Rale's  converts  were  milder  and  kinder  and  more 
Christian-like  than  any  of  their  Indian  neighbors.  The  good  father  was  full 
of  concern  when  he  heard  that  a  fierce  and  warlike  tribe,  who  had  steadily 
resisted  all  elevating  influences,  were  about  settling  within  a  day's  journey  of 
Norridgewock.  He  feared  lest  his  children  should  be  led  away  by  perni- 
cious examples;  so  he  with  difficulty  persuaded  some  of  the  strangers  to  enter 
the  chapel,  and  to  be  present  at  some  of  the  imposing  ceremonies  of  the 
mother  church.  At  the  close  of  the  service  he  addressed  them  in  simple 
words,  and  thus  concluded: 

"  Let  us  not  separate,  that  some  may  go  one  way  and  some  another.  Let 
us  all  go  to  heaven.  It  is  our  country,  and  the  place  to  which  we  are  invited 
by  the  sole  Master  of  life,  of  whom  I  am  but  the  interpreter."  The  reply  of 
the  Indians  was  evasive;  but  it  was  evident  th.it  an  impression  was  made,  and 
in  the  autumn  they  sent  to  him  to  say  that  if  he  would  come  to  them  they 
would  receive  his  teachings. 

Father  Rale  gladly  went  at  this  bidding,  erected  a  cross  and  a  chapel, 
and  finatly  baptized  nearly  the  whole  tribe. 

At  this  time  Father  Rale  wrote  to  his  nephew  a  letter,  in  which  he  says: 
"  My  new  church  is  neat,  and  its  elegantly-ornamented  vestments,  chasubles, 
copes,  and  holy  vessels  would  be  esteemed  highly  appropriate  in  almost  any 
church  in  Europe.  A  choir  of  young  Indians,  forty  in  number,  assist  at  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  and  chant  the  divine  offices  for  the  consecration 
of  the  Holy  Sacrament;  and  you  would  be  edified  by  the  beautiful  order  they 
preserve  and  the  devotion  they  manifest.  After  the  Mass  I  teach  the  young 
children,  and  the  remainder  of  the  morning  is  devoted  to  seeing  those  who 
come  to  consult  me  on  affairs  of  importance.  Thus,  you  see,  I  teach  some, 
console  others,  seek  to  re-establish  peace  in  families  at  variance,  and  to  calm 
troubled  consciences." 

Another  letter,  still  later,  in  speaking  of  the  attachment  of  the  converts 
to  their  faith,  says:     "And  when  they  go  to  the  sea-shore  in  summer  to  fish. 


CATHOLIC  CHUKCII  IN  AMERICA  211 

I  accompany  them;  and  when  they  reach  the  place  wliere  they  intend  to  pass 
the  night,  they  erect  stakes  at  intervals  in  the  form  of  a  chapel,  and  spread  a 
tent  made  of  ticiiing.  AH  is  complete  in  fifteen  minutes.  1  always  carry 
with  me  a  beautiful  board  of  cedar,  with  the  necessary  supports.  This  serves 
for  an  altar,  and  I  ornament  the  interior  with  silken  hangings.  A  huge  bear- 
skin serves  as  a  carpet,  and  divine  service  is  held  within  an  hour." 

While  awav  on  one  of  the  excursions  which  Father  Rale  thus  describes, 
the  village  was  attacked  by  the  English;  and  again,  in  1722,  by  a  party  of 
two  hundred  under  Col.  VVcstbrook.  New  England  had  passed  a  law  im- 
posing impi  isonmcnt  for  life  on  Catholic  priests,  and  a  reward  was  offered 
for  the  head  of  Fatlicr  Rale.  The  party  was  seen,  as  they  entered  the  valley 
of  the  Kcnnt'iiLC,  by  two  braves,  who  luirried  on  to  give  the  alarm;  the  priest 
having  barely  time  to  escape  to  the  woods  with  the  altar  vessels  and  vest- 
ments, leaving  belnnd  him  all  his  Da»ers  and  his  precious  Abnaki  dictionary, 
which  was  enclosed  in  a  strong  box  of  peculiar  construction.  It  had  two 
rude  pictures  on  the  lid,  one  of  the  scourging  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  and  the 
other  of  the  Crowning  of  Thorns.  This  box  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Societv.  while  the  dictionary  itself  is  at  Harvard. 

Father  Rale  saved  himself  by  taking  refuge  in  a  hollow  tree,  where  he 
remained  for  thirty-six  hours,  suffering  from  hunger  and  a  broken  leg. 

Willi  wonderful  courage  Father  Rale  built  up  another  chapel,  and  writes 
llui-.,  after  recounting  the  efforts  of  the  English  to  take  bim  prisoner:  "In 
the  words  of  the  apostle,  I  conclude:  I  do  not  fear  the  threats  of  those  who 
hate  iTie  without  a  cause,  and  I  count  not  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I 
might  finish  my  course  and  the  ministry  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord 
Jesus." 

Again,  over  the  council-fires,  the  Indian  chiefs  assembled.  They  decided 
to  send  an  embassy  to  Boston,  to  demand  that  their  chapel,  which  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  English,  shoukl  be  rebuilt. 

The  governor,  anxious  to  secure  the  alliance  of  the  tribe,  listened  patiently, 
and  told  them  in  reply  that  it  belonged  properly  to  the  governor  of  Canada 
to  rebuild  their  church;  still,  that  he  would  do  it  provided  they  would  agree 
to  receive  the  clergy  he  vvoulil  choose,  and  would  send  back  to  Quebec  the 
French  priest  who  was  then  with  them.  We  cannot  forbear  repeating  here 
tlie  uiicqualed  satire  of  the  Indian's  reply: 

'•  When  you  came  here,"  answered  the  chief,  "we  were  unknown  to  the 
French  governor,  but  no  one  of  you  spoke  of  prayer  or  of  the  Great  Spirit. 


212  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

You  thought  only  of  my  skins  and  furs.  But  one  day  I  met  a  Frencli  black- 
coat  in  the  forest.  He  did  not  look  at  the  skins  with  which  I  was  loaded,  but 
he  said  words  to  me  of  the  Great  Spirit,  of  i)aradisc  and  of  hell,  and  of 
prayer,  by  which  is  the  only  path  to  heaven. 

"I  listened  with  pleasure,  and  at  last  begged  him  to  teach  and  to 
baptize  me. 

"If,  when  you  saw  me,  you  had  spoken  to  mc  of  prayer,  I  should  have 
had  the  misfortune  to  pray  as  you  do;  for  I  was  not  then  able  to  know  if 
your  prayers  were  good.  So,  I  tell  you,  I  will  hold  fast  to  the  prayers  of  the 
French.     I  will  keep  them  until  the  earth  burn  up  and  perish." 

Peace  was  spoken  of  by  the  English  in  1724,  but  before  concluding  it. 
they  resolved  to  make  a  last  effort  on  the  life  of  Father  Rale,  the  greatest 
object  of  their  desires. 

On  the  23d  of  August,  1724,  a  small  force  of  English  and  some  Mohawks 
suddenly  emerged  from  the  thick  copse  which  surrounded  the  undefended 
village,  and  as  soon  as  they  came  in  view,  their  volleys,  rattling  through  the 
bark  cabins,  aroused  the  unsuspecting  inmates. 

All  was  consternation;  the  women  and  children  fled;  the  braves  who  hau 
lingered  at  the  village,  seized  their  arms,  and  rushed  forward  to  meet  and 
check  the  foe;  but  the  devoted  missionary  was  the  first  to  appear.  He  had  been 
warned  of  the  enemy's  approach,  but  believing  it  impossible  at  this  season, 
had  induced  his  flock  to  attach  no  credit  to  the  report.  Now  fatally  unde- 
ceived, he  came  forth,  conscious  that  he  alone  was  the  object  of  their  hate, 
and  hoping  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  own  life  to  save  his  flock.  Indeed,  no 
sooner  had  he  reached  the  mission  cross,  than  a  shout  arose,  and  a  volley, 
awakening  the  echoes  of  the  forest,  laid  him  dead  at  the  foot  of  that  symbol 
of  redemption.  Seven  chiefs  who  had  gathered  around  him  shared  his  fate. 
It  was  evident  tliat  the  brutal  foe  had  planned  a  complete  massacre  of  Father 
Rale  and  his  friends. 

The  Indians  fled,  and  the  victors  wreaked  their  fury  on  the  corpse  of  the 
aged  missionary,  which  was  hacked  and  mangled;  his  head  cloven  open,  his 
legs  broken,  and  his  whole  body  mutilated  and  trampled  on. 

Then  followed  a  scene  that  beggars  description.  Women  and  children 
were  killed  indiscriminately ;  and  it  ill  became  those  who  shot  women  as  they 
swam  across  the  river  to  bring  a  charge  of  cruelty  against  the  humane  French 
fathers. 

The  chapel  was  robbed  and  then  fired;  the  bell  was  not  melted,  but  was 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMP.RICA  213 

probably  afterward  l)uricd  by  the  Indians,  for  it  was  revealed  only  a  few 
years  since  by  the  blowing  down  of  a  huge  oak  tree,  and  was  presented  to 
Bowdoin  College. 

The  soft,  dewy  night  closed  on  the  scene  of  devastation,  and  in  the 
morning,  as  one  by  one  the  survivors  crept  back  to  their  ruined  homes  with 
their  hearts  full  of  consternation  and  sorrow,  they  found  the  body  of  their 
beloved  priest,  not  only  pierced  by  a  hundred  balls,  but  with  the  skull 
crushed  by  hatchets,  arms  and  legs  broken,  and  mouth  and  eyes  filled  with 
dirt.  They  buried  him  where  the  day  before  had  stood  the  altar  of  the  little 
chapel,  and  sent  his  tattered  habits  to  Quebec. 

It  was  by  so  precious  a  death  that  this  apostolical  man  closed  a  career  of 
nearly  forty  years  of  painful  missionary  toil.  His  fasts  and  vigils  had  greatly 
enfeebled  his  constitution,  and,  when  entreated  to  take  precautions  for  his 
safety,  he  answered:  "My  measures  are  taken.  God  has  committed  this 
flock  to  my  charge,  and  I  will  share  their  fate,  being  too  happy  if  permitted 
to  sacrifice  myself  for  them." 

Well  did  his  superior  in  Canada,  M.  de  Bellemont,  reply,  when  requested 
to  offer  Masses  for  his  soul:  "  In  the  words  of  S.  Augustine,  I  say  it  would 
be  wronging  a  martyr  to  pray  for  him." 

There  can  be  no  question  that  Sebastian  Rille  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  men  of  his  day.  A  devoted  Christian  and  finished  scholar,  com- 
manding in  manners  and  elegant  in  address,  of  persuasive  eloquence  and  great 
administrative  ability,  he  courted  death  and  starvation  for  the  sole  end  of 
salvation  for  the  Indian. 

From  the  death  of  Father  Rflle  until  1730  the  mission  at  Norridgewock 
was  without  a  priest.  In  that  jcar,  however,  the  supcriDr  at  Quebec  sent 
Father  James  de  Sirenne  to  that  station.  The  account  given  by  this  father 
of  the  warmth  with  which  he  was  received,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
Indians  had  sought  to  keep  their  faith,  is  very  touching.  The  women  with 
tears  and  sobs  hastened  with  their  unbaptized  babes  to  the  priest. 

In  all  these  years  no  Protestant  clergyman  had  visited  them,  for  Eliot 
was  almost  the  only  one  who  devoted  himself  to  the  conversion  of  the  Indians, 
though  even  he,  as  aflnmed  by  Bancroft,  had  never  approached  the  Indian 
tribe  that  dwelt  within  six  miles  of  Boston  Harbor  until  five  years  after  the 
cross  had  been  borne  by  the  religious  zeal  of  the  French  from  Lake  Superior 
to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

But  Father  Sirenne  could  not  be  permitted  to  remain  any  length  of  time 


214  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

with  the  Abnakis.     Again   were   they   deserted,  having   a   priest  with  them 
only  at  long  intervals. 

Then  came  the  peace  of  1763,  in  which  France  surrendered  Canada. 
This  step  struck  a  most  terrible  blow  at  the  missions;  for  although  the 
English  government  guaranteed  to  the  Canadians  absolute  religious  freedom, 
they  yet  took  quiet  steps  to  rid  themselves  of  the  Jesuit  fathers. 

A  short  breathing  space,  and  another  war  swept  over  the  land,  and  with 
this  perished  the  last  mission  in  Maine.  In  1775  deputies  from  the  various 
tribes  in  Maine  and  Nova  .Scotia  met  the  Massacliusetts  council.  The  Indians 
announced  their  intention  of  adhering  to  the  Americans,  but  begged,  at  the 
same  time,  for  a  French  priest.  The  council  expressed  their  regret  at  not 
being  able  to  find  one. 

"Strange  indeed  was  it,"  says  Shea,  "that  the  very  body  which,  less 
than  a  century  before,  had  made  it  felony  for  a  Catholic  priest  to  visit  the 
Abnakis,  now  regretted  their  inability  to  send  these  Christian  Indians  a  mis- 
sionary of  the  same  faith  and  nation." 

Years  after,  when  peace  was  declared,  and  the  few  Catholics  in  Mary- 
land had  chosen  the  Rev.  John  Carroll — a  member  of  the  proscribed  Society' 
of  Jesus — as  bishop,  the  Abnakis  of  Maine  sent  a  deputation  bearing  the 
crucitix  of  Father  Rale.  This  they  presented  to  the  bishop,  with  earnest 
supplications  for  a  priest. 

Bishop  Carroll  promised  that  one  should  be  sent,  and  Father  Ciquard  was 
speedily  despatched  to  Norridgewock,  where  he  remained  for  ten  years.  Then 
ensued  another  interval  during  which  the  flock  was  without  a  shepherd. 

At  last  a  missionary  priest  at  Boston,  Father  (afterward  Cardinal) 
Cheverus,  turned  his  attention  to  the  stud^'  of  the  Abnaki  dialect,  and  then 
visited  the  Penobscot  tribe. 

Desolate,  poor,  and  forsaken  as  they  had  been,  the  Indians  still  clung  to 
their  faith.  The  old  taught  the  young,  and  all  gathered  on  Sundays  to  chant 
the  music  of  the  Mass  and  Vespers,  though  their  altar  had  no  priest  and  no 
sacrifice. 

Father  Cheverus,  after  a  few  months, was  succeeded  by  Father  Romagnd, 
who  for  twenty  years  consecrated  every  moment  and  every  thought  to  the 
evangelization  of  the  Penobscot  and  Passamaquoddy  tribes.  In  July,  1S27, 
Bishop  Fenwick  visited  this  portion  of  his  disocese,  and  in  1S31  sent  them 
a  resident  missionary.  A  beautiful  church  stood  at  last  in  the  place  of 
Romagn^'s  hut,  and  two  years  later  Bishop   Fenwick,  once  a  father  in  the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  21 5 

Society  of  Jesus,  erected  a  moniimeiit  to  Father  Rule  on  the  spot  where  he  was 
slain  a  liundred  and  nine  years  before.  From  far  and  near  gathered  the  crowd, 
Protestant  as  well  as  Catholic,  to  witness  the  ceremony.  The  monument 
stands  in  a  green,  secluded  spot,  a  simple  shaft  of  granite  surmounted  hy  a 
cross,  and  an  inscription  in  Latin  tells  the  traveler  that  there  died  a  faithful 
priest  and  servant  of  the  Lord.  Bishop  Fenwick  became  extremely  anxious 
to  induce  some  French  priest  to  go  to  that  ancient  mission,  and  a  year  later 
the  Society  of  Picpus,  in  Switzerland,  sent  out  Fathers  Demilier  and  Petit- 
homme  to  restore  the  Franciscan  missions  in  Maine.  They  conquered  the 
difficulties  of  the  Abnaki  dialect  with  the  aid  of  a  prayer-book  which  the 
bishop  had  caused  to  be  printed,  and  in  this  small  and  insignificant  mission 
Father  Demilier  toiled  until  his  death  in  1S43. 

The  successor  of  Bishojj  Fenwick  resolved  to  restore  the  Almaki  mission 
to  the  fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  by  whom  it  had  been  originally  founded. 
Therefore,  since  1S48,  the  Penobscots  and  Passamaquoddys  have  been  under 
the  care  of  the  Jesuits,  wlio  in  that  year  sent  out  from  Switzerland  Father 
John  Bapst  to  Old  Town,  on  the  Penobscot — a  short  distance  from  Bangor — • 
where  he  ministered  faithfully  to  the  Abnakis  until  he  nearly  lost  his  life  in 
a  disgraceful  know-nothing  riot  in  1S54. 

As  we  find  ourselves  thus  at  the  conclusion  of  our  narration,  incidents 
crowd  upon  our  memory  of  the  wondrous  sacrifices  made  by  the  Catholic 
clergy  in  the  old  missions  of  Maine;  but  we  are  .idmonished  that  our  space  is 
limited. 

Little  attention,  however,  has  been  paiti  to  the  fact  that  to  these  Cat'nolic 
priests  alone  under  God  is  due  the  evangelization  of  the  many  Indian  tribes 
which  formerly  haunted  our  grand  old  forests.  Of  these  tribes,  only  a  few 
of  the  Penobscots  are  left,  and  these  cling  still  to  the  cross  as  the  blessed 
symbol  of  the  faith  first  brought  to  them  "as  a  voice  crying  in  the  wilder- 
ness," by  Fathers  Biard  and  Du  Thet  at  St.  Sauveur  in  1613. 


(C^Mxptcv  ^U. 


TH^ee    SAINTIsV    bAOieS 


Cbapteir   XII. 


Pious  Dames  of  Fnancc. 


iHE  HOLY  CHII.D  AT  Tours.  —  Becomes  a  Wife  and  Widow. — .\  Vision  from 
Our  Lady. — IMary  of  the  Incarnation. — A  B.and  ok  Missionary  Ursulinhs 
— Work  Among  Indian  Children. — Toils  and  Privations  of  the  Ladies. — 
De.^th  of  Mother  Mary.  —  Beautiful  Madame  De  La  Peltrik.  —  Saintly 
Jane  Mance. — Story  of  Fair  Montreal. — Poverty,  Grief  and  Death. 


FTER  the  pillage  and  destruction  of  St.  Sauveur's,  in  Maine,  as 
recorded  in  the  preceding  chapter,  missionary  zeal  in  France  was 
enkindled  to  such  a  fervor  as  to  invade  even  the  convents.  Many 
of  their  gentle  inmates  aspired  to  be  heralds  of  the  Cross  in  the 
New  World,  and  as  the  influence  of  these  pious  ladies  on  the 
religious  life  of  America — of  which  the  St.  Lawrence  was  still  the 
chief  northern  gateway — has  been  potent  as  well  as  enduring,  a  detailed  no- 
tice of  some  of  them  will  here  be  appropriate'. 

Mary  Guyard,  known  in  history  and  religion  as  Mother  Mary  of  the 
Incarnation,  stands  first  on  the  long  roll  of  great  and  saintly  women  who 
have  shed  a  luster  on  the  annals  of  Canada.  She  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Tours,  France,  on  the  3Sth  of  October,  1599.  Her  parents  were  in  very 
modest  circumstances,  but  were  persons  of  eminent  piety  and  spotless  lives. 
To  their  little  daughter  they  gave  the  name  of  Mary,  and  in  the  gift  of  that 

216 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  21 7 

beautiful  name  was  shadowed  forth  the  grandeur  of  a  noble  life — the  lifi.'  of  ? 

Christian  heroine. 

"Mary!  sweet  name  revered  above, 

And  O  how  dear  below! 
In  it  are  hope  and  holy  love, 

And  blessings  from  it  flow." 

Placed  in  such  a  school  of  life,  and  endowed  with  rare  dispositions,  we 
are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  the  girl  grew  in  wisdom,  age,  and  grace. 
In  one  of  her  letters,  written  years  afterwards,  she  says:  "The  good  educa- 
tion which  I  had  received  from  my  parents,  who  were  most  pious  Christians, 
laid  an  excellent  foundation  in  my  soul ;  and  I  cannot  but  bless  the  God  of 
goodness  for  his  gracious  kindness  to  me  in  this  connection.  It  is  a  great 
step  in  the  way  of  virtue  and  a  precious  preparation  for  a  high  degree  of 
piety,  to  fall  into  hands  which  carefully  mold  the  first  years  of  our  existence." 

There  are  many  mansions  in  heaven,  and  it  seems  that  all  who  rea-^h 
them  do  not  travel  the  same  road  of  life.  Tliough  manifesting  some  desire 
for  the  religious  slate,  Mary  Guyard,  in  her  eighteenthyear,  and  in  obedience 
to  the  wishes  of  her  parents,  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Claudius  Joseph 
Martin.  He  was  a  silk  manufacturer,  and  a  young  man  of  most  estimable 
character. 

The  first  care  of  Madame  Martin  in  her  new  state  was  to  make  the  fear 
of  God  reign  in  her  house.  She  was  a  model  of  order  and  industry,  and  such 
was  her  life  of  faith  that  we  are  assured  by  her  biographers  that  her  most 
common  actions  were  transformed  into  practices  of  piety.  For  her  husband, 
who  was,  to  use  her  own  words,  "  a  good.  God-fearing  man,"  she  always  en- 
tertained the  most  affectionate  respect;  and  yet  their  married  life  was  far  from 
being  happy.  But  the  cause  of  this  we  know  not.  Two  years  after  his 
marriage,  however,  Mr.  Martin  died,  leaving  his  young  wife,  scarcely  twenty 
years  of  age,  with  an  infant  some  six  months  old,  without  fortune,  and  even 
with  very  scanty  means  of  support. 

When  Mary  Guyard  was  about  to  become  a  bride,  more  through  obe- 
dience than  love  or  inclination,  she  had  said  to  her  mother:  "  Mother,  since 
the  resolution  is  taken,  and  that  my  father  absolutely  wills  it,  I  belic\e  tliat  I 
am  obliged  to  bow  to  his  decision  and  to  yours,  but  if  God  will  grant  nie  the 
grace  of  giving  me  a  son,  I  now  promise  to  consecrate  him  to  the  Divine  ser- 
vice; and  if,  afterwards.  He  sliould  restore  to  me  the  liberty  which  I  am  now 
losing,  I  also  promise  to  consecrate  myself  to  Him."  There  i<  sonielhing 
singularly  prophetic  in  these  words. 


2,8  TRIALS  AND  TRlUMrilS  Of  TIJE 

But  a  Ion"-  road  of  sorrow  and  suffering  was  to  be  traveled  before  either 
of  these  sublime  objects  was  accomplished.  Solitude,  meditation,  fast- 
ino-,  prayer,  continual  attention  to  the  holy  presence  of  God,  the  use  of 
the  hair-shirt  and  all  kinds  of  mortification,  and  wonderful  favors  from 
heaven — these  might  form  the  headings  of  so  many  chapters  in  relation  to 
this  period  in  the  life  of  this  heroic  woman.  "  I  should  regard  as  lost,"  she 
writes,  "  a  day  passed  without  suffering." 

At  length,  after  twelve  years  had  brought  her  son  beyond  the  helpless- 
ness of  infancy,  Madame  Martin  confided  him  to  her  sister's  care,  tore  herself 
from  his  presence,  and  entered  the  cloister.  Truly  these  years  of  probation 
had  been  to  her  the  narrow,  thorny  path  leading  to  the  mountain  heights  of 
sanctity.  Long  before  pronouncing  her  vows  as  a  religious,  she  had 
practised  the  counsels  of  evangelical  perfection. 

On  the  25th  of  January,  1631,  Madame  Martin  entered  the  convent  of 
the  Ursulines,  in  the  city  of  Tours.  Two  years  after  she  maile  her  religious 
profession,  and  henceforth  she  will  be  known  as  Mother  Mary  of  the  In- 
carnation. 

It  may,  [erhaps,  seem  strange  that  this  lady,  capable  of  such  exalted 
spirituality,  was  also  gifted  to  a  rare  degree  with  the  faculties  most  useful  in 
the  practical  affairs  of  life.  Durmg  the  several  years  she  spent  in  the  house 
of  her  brother-in-law,  she  proved  how  able  and  efficient  she  was  to  aid  him 
in  the  conduct  of  his  business.  Her  heart  was  far  aw.ay  from  these  mundane 
interests,  but  her  talent  for  business  was  not  the  less  displayed.  Of  this  her 
spiritual  guides  were  aware,  and  saw  clearly  that  gifts  so  useful  to  the  world 
mi"-ht  be  made  equally  useful  to  the  Church.  Hence  it  was  that  she  was  made 
superioress  of  the  convent  which  Madame  de  la  Peltrie  was  about  to  entlow 
at  Quebec. 

"  I  now  see,"  wrote  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation  towards  the  end  of 
her  days,  "  that  all  the  states  of  life,  trials,  and  labors  through  which  I  have 
passed,  have  had  but  one  object — to  form  me  for  the  work  to  be  done  in 
Canada." 

Not  long  after  her  admittance  into  the  Ursuline  convent,  a  mysterious 
dream  or  vision  shadowed  forth  her  future  career.  Over  a  dark  and  perilous 
way  the  holy  novice  seemed  to  grope  hand  in  hand  with  an  unknown  lad}'. 
A  venerable  personage  directed  the  travelers  by  a  motion  of  his  hand,  and 
they  entered  a  spacious  court,  formed  by  the  buildings  of  a  religious  institution. 
The  pavement  was  of  white  marble,  intersected  by  lines  of  vermilion.     Over 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  219 

all  seemed  to  breathe  the  spirit  of  peace.  On  one  side  arose  a  chapel  of  the 
purest  alabastre,  upon  the  surr.mit  of  which,  as  upon  a  throne,  were  seated 
the  Holy  Virgin  and  the  divine  Child. 

The  Queen  of  Heaven  seemed  to  be  gazing  upon  a  desolate  country, 
covered  with  fogs,  and  traversed  by  mountains,  valleys,  and  vast  precipices. 
In  the  midst  of  these  gloomy  wastes,  the  spires  and  gable  ends  of  a  little 
church  could  be  discerned,  just  visible  above  the  misty  atmosphere.  She 
looked  with  sadness  on  tlie  dismal  scene  before  her ;  and  as  Mary  of  the 
Incarnation  pressed  forward,  close  to  her  seat,  the  dear  Mother  of  Mercy 
turned  towards  her  with  a  sweet  smile  of  welcome,  and,  gently  bending  down, 
she  kissed  the  fair  traveler's  forehead.  Then  she  seemed  to  whisper  some 
message  to  the  divine  Child.  It  concerned  the  salvation  of  souls.  Our  hero- 
ine heard  not  the  words,  but  she  caught  their  purport;  and,  on  awaking,  her 
glowing  heart  burned  more  than  ever  for  the  conversion  of  pagan  nations. 

A  year  later  the  mystery  was  removed.  A  voice  within  the  soul  of 
Mary  of  the  Incarnation  called  upon  her  to  found  a  convent  of  her  order  in 
Canada.  She  appeared  to  hear  the  Master  of  Life  urging  her  to  go  to  that 
new  land,  and  "  build  a  house  to  Jesus  and  Mary."  The  Church  in  Canjida 
was  then  in  its  infancy.  Its  foundation  stone  had  recently  been  laid,  through 
the  lofty  zeal  of  Champlain.  As  we  shall  read  later  on,  the  illustrious  Father 
John  de  Br^beuf,  SJ.,  and  a  band  of  Jesuits  were  toiling  among  the  Hurons 
of  Upper  Canada  ;  and  other  apostolic  priests  of  the  same  society  were 
laboring  at  Quebec,  or  scattered  at  various  points  along  the  St.  Lawrence. 

The  "Jesuit  Relations,"  which  the  Canadian  missionaries  began  to  pub- 
lish in  1632,  found  their  way  to  the  Ursuline  convent  at  Tours,  and  helped 
to  fan  the  flame.  It  is  for  the  Almighty  to  provide  the  way  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  own  designs.  In  what  manner  this  was  brought  about,  we 
shall  now  briefly  relate. 

Near  the  little  town  of  Alengon,  in  Normandy,  stood  the  castle  of  the 
Lord  of  Vaubougon,  the  ancestral  home  of  Mary  Magdalene  de  Chauvigny, 
better  known  by  the  name  of  Madame  de  la  Peltrie.  Like  Mary  of  the 
Incarnation,  she  had  entered  the  married  state  through  pine  compliance  to  the 
will  of  her  parents. 

Madamoiselle  De  Chauvigny  wished  to  be  a  religious.  Her  father,  how- 
ever, passionately  fond  of  his  beautiful  daughter,  resisted  her  inclination  for 
the  cloister,  and  sought  to  wean  her  back  to  the  world ;  but  she  escaped  from 
the  chateau  to  a  neighboring  convent,  where  she  resolved  to  remain.     Ilcr 


220  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

father  followed,  curried  her  home,  and  engaged  her  in  ;i  round  of  fetes  and 
hunting  parties,  in  the  midst  of  which  she  found  herself  surprised  into  a  l)e- 
trothal  to  M.  de  la  Peltrie,  a  young  gentleman  of  rank  and  character. 

The  marriage  proved  a  happy  one,  and  Wadame  de  la  Peltrie,  with  an 
excellant  grace,  bore  her  part  in  the  world  she  had  wished  to  renounce. 
After  a  union  of  fi\'o  years,  her  husband  died,  and  she  was  left  a  widow  anil 
childless  at  the  age  of  twenty-two.  She  now  gave  her  life  and  freedom  to 
charity  and  devotion.  The  good  lady  had  heard  of  Canada;  and  when 
Father  Le  Jeune's  first  "  Relations"  appeared,  she  read  them  with  delight. 
"Alas!"  wrote  the  father,  "is  there  no  charitable  and  virtuous  lady  who  will 
come  to  this  country  to  gather  up  the  blood  of  Christ  by  teaching  His  word 
to  the  little  Indian  girls?" 

This  warm  appeal  found  a  prompt  and  vehement  answer  from  the  thrill- 
ing breast  of  Madame  de  la  Peltrie.  Henceforth  she  thought  of  nothing  but 
Canada.  A  high  and  noble  purpose  filled  her  soul.  She  resolved  to  go  to 
that  heathen  land  and  gather  up  the  precious  blood  of  Christ.  But  before 
she  had  actually  taken  any  step  towards  the  fulfillment  of  her  pious  project, 
she  fell  dangerously  ill.  Her  life  was  despaired  of.  In  this  cxtremit)-,  she 
made  a  solemn  vow  to  go  to  Canada  and  to  found,  in  honor  of  St.  Joseph,  an 
Ursuline  convent  for  the  instruction  of  the  little  Indian  and  French  girls. 

Suddenly,  as  from  the  brink  of  the  grave,  she  arose  to  perfect  health. 
But  many  difficulties  yet  remained  to  be  overcome.  Family  interests  changed 
them  to  persecution.  She  was  harassed  by  legal  proceedings.  Those  who 
coveted  the  wealth  she  was  giving  to  good  works  were  even  determined  to 
deprive  her  of  her  liberty  in  order  to  obtain  it.  By  the  advise  of  wise  and 
learned  priests,  however,  she  adopted  measures  which  thwarted  all  opposition 
and  began  to  carry  out  her  design  of  proceeding  to  the  wilderness  of  the  New 
World  in  order  to  found  an  Ursuline  convent  on  the  banks  of  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

It  remained  to  obtain  nuns  for  the  proposed  foundation.  Madame  de  la 
Peltrie  sought  the  advice  of  Father  Poncet,  S.  J.,  w^ho  was  charged  with 
Canadian  missions;  and  to  her  great  joy  learned  from  him  tlie  jjarticulars  of 
the  life  and  vocation  of  Mar^-  of  the  Incarnation.  Not  many  weeks  later,  the 
pious  widow  was  at  Tours,  negotiating  the  affair  with  the  archbishop. 

Madame  de  la  Peltrie  was  no  sooner  admitted  into  the  convent,  than 
Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation  recognized  in  her  the  unknown  companion 
with   whom,  in  that   mysterious  dream,  eight   years   before,   she   had   toiled 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  221 

along  a  perilous  pathway  thiough  the  wildciness  of  a  strange  land.  It  was 
necessary  to  choose  a  companion  for  Mother  Mary,  and  this  was  equally  over- 
ruled by  Providence.     All  were  anxious  to  obtain  the  nomination. 

One  alone,  in  her  humility,  judged  herself  unworthy  of  such  a  distinc- 
tion ;  but  she  was  the  chosen  one.  Of  noble  birth,  gentle  mien,  and  delicate 
health,  the  youthful  and  accomplished  Mary  de  la  Troche,  known  in  religion 
as  Mother  St.  Joseph,  was  too  timid  and  too  modest  to  think  of  herself  as  a 
candidate  for  the  wild  Canailian  mission.  Yet  this  sweet,  tlelicate  girl  was 
chosen,  and  wisely  chosen. 

It  now  remained  to  regulate  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  projected  founda- 
tion, and  to  receive  the  benediction  of  the  archbishop  of  Tours.  The  assem. 
bly  was  held  in  the  archiepiscopal  residence.  The  venerable  prelate,  who  w-as 
in  his  eightieth  year,  was  deeply  moved.  And  when  the  moment  for  part- 
ing came,  he  arose,  presented  the  two  nuns  to  Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  and 
addressed  her  in  these  remarkable  words: 

"These  are  the  two  foundation  stones  of  the  temple  which  you  are 
about  to  erect  in  the  new  world  for  the  glory  of  God.  For  this  end,  and 
according  to  your  request,  I  entrust  them  to  you.  On  the  model  of  the 
Jerusalem  above,  may  they  be  two  precious  stones  in  the  foundation.  May 
this  edifice  be  a  mansion  of  peace  and  grace  and  celestial  blessings,  more 
abundant  than  those  of  the  ancient  Temple  of  Solomon.  May  the  efforts  of 
hell  never  prevail  against  it,  any  more  than  against  the  Holy  Church.  And 
since  this  house  is  to  be  built  for  the  Almighty,  may  He  fix  His  dwelling 
there,  as  the  Father  and  as  the  Spouse,  not  only  of  the  nuns  whom  I  confide 
to  you,  but  of  all  who  may  accompany  them,  or  who  will  live  there  after 
tliem,  to  the  end  of  lime." 

On  May  4,  1639,  Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarna- 
tion, Mother  Mary  of  St.  Joseph,  and  another  Ursuline  embarked  at  Dieppe 
for  Canada.  In  the  ship  were  also  three  young  hospital  nuns,  sent  out  to 
f(uuul  al  Quebec  a  Hotel  Dieu,  endowed  by  the  duchess  of  Aiguillon,  the 
famcnis  niece  of  Cardmal  Richelieu.  Here,  too,  were  Father  Poncet,  S.  J., 
antl  Father  Chaumonot,  S.  J.,  on  the  way  to  their  mission,  together  with 
Father  Vimont,  S.  J.,  who  was  to  succeed  Father  I^e  Jeune,  S.  J.,  in  his  post 
of  superior. 

To  lh<!  nuns,  pale  from  the  cloistered  seclusion,  there  mu-^t  have  been  a 
strange  and  startling  novelty  in  this  new  world  of  life  and  action — the  ship, 
the  sailors,  the  shouts  of  command,  the  Happing  of  sails,  the  salt  wind,  and 


222  TRIALS  AXn  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  tossing,  boisterous  sea.  The  voyage  was  long  and  tedious.  Sometimes 
tliey  lay  in  their  berths,  sea-sick  and  woe-begone;  sometimes  they  sang  in 
choir  on  deck,  or  heard  Mass  in  the  cabin. 

Once,  on  a  misty  morning,  a  wild  cry  of  alarm  startled  crew  and  passen- 
gers alike.  A  huge  iceberg  was  drifting  close  upon  them.  The  peril  was 
<xtre<ne.  Madame  de  la  Peltrie  clung  to  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation, 
who  stood  perfectly  calm.  In  this  moment  of  peril  they  made  a  vow  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin  and  St.  Joseph;  Father  Vimont  offered  it  in  behalf  of  all  the 
company,  and  the  ship  glided  into  the  open  sea  unharmed. 

It  was  midsummer  when  they  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  Tadoussac,  at  the 
confluence  of  the  Saguenay  with  the  St.  Lawrence.  Our  travelers,  no  doubt, 
were  impressed  with  the  stern,  savage  grandeur  of  the  scenery.  There  stood 
frowning  the  bleak,  impending  cliffs,  rising  perpendicularly,  and  forming  a 
gigantic  gateway,  through  which  the  dark  waters  of  the  somber  Saguenay 
issue — a  fathomless  flood — reminding  the  spectator  of  long  ages  past,  and  the 
terrible  convulsions  of  nature  since  her  birth. 

The  dense,  lonely  forests  were  unbroken,  save  by  the  curling  smoke  of 
the  wigwam  fire,  or  the  rude  sheds  of  the  trading  station.  Strange  and  wild 
were  these  swarthy  hunters,  the  roving  Algonquins,  who  had  come  to  this 
point,  bringing  their  furs — the  skin  of  the  beaver,  the  seal,  and  the  marten, 
to  exchange  for  knives,  kettles,  blankets,  and  other  European  commodities. 
The  poor  Indians  gazed  with  amazement  on  these  fair  "  daughters  of 
sachems,"  who,  they  were  told,  had  left  their  happy  homes  beyond  the 
"  Great  Sea "  to  teach  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  red  man  how  to  live 
in  this  world,  and  prepare  themselves  for  the  next. 

The  apostolic  passengers  were  impatient  to  reach  their  destination. 
Leaving  the  ship  in  which  they  had  traversed  the  Atlantic  to  its  traffic,  they 
pushed  up  the  river  in  a  smaller  vessel.  It  was  the  ist  of  August,  1639,  as 
they  neared  the  still  rude  fortress  of  Quebec.  All  labor  ceased,  and  the 
cannon  boomed  welcome  from  the  heights  of  Cape  Diamond.  The  wooden 
tenements  and  the  Indian  camp-lodges  alike  sent  forth  their  inhabitants  to  view 
the  religious  strangers.  The  gallant  Governor  Montmagny,  in  brilliant 
uniform,  surrounded  by  his  staff,  some  Jesuit  fathers,  and  a  file  of  soldiers, 
Were  all  ranged  on  the  shore. 

On  landing,  the  nuns  fell  prostrate,  and  kissed  the  soil  of  Canada.  The 
pious  cortege  moved  on,  climbing  the  zig-zag  pathway  up  the  steep  now 
known  as  Mountain  street.     At   the  top  of  the  hill,  to  the  left,  was  the  little 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


223 


chapel  of  our  Lady  of  Recovery,  which  had  bccu  built  by  Chainplaii.  in 
1632.  Mass  was  offered  up  by  the  father  superior  of  the  missions.  The 
Te  Dcum  was  chanted.  Then  they  dined  at  the  fort,  and  presently  set  forth 
to  visit  the  new  settlement  of  Sillery,  four  miles  above  Quebec. 

Noiil  Brulart  de  Sillery,  a  knight  of  Malta,  who  had  once  filled  the 
highest  offices  under  the  queen  Marie  de  MiJdicis,  had  now  severed  his  con- 
nection with  his  order,  renounced  the  world,  and  become  a  priest.  He 
devoted  his  vast  revenues  to  the  founding  of  religious  establishments.  Among 
other  'jndowmcnts,  he  had  placed  ample  funds  in  the  hands  of  the  Jesuit 
fathers  for  the  formation  of  a  settlement  of  Christian  Indians  at  the  spot 
which  still  bears  his  name.  On  the  strand  of  Sillery  between  the  river  and 
the  woody  heights  behind,  were  clustered  the  small  log-cabins  of  a  number 
of  Algonquins,  converts,  together  with  a  church,  a  mission  house,  and  an 
infirmary — the  whole  surrounded  by  a  palisade.  It  was  to  this  place  that 
Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  Mary  of  the  Incarnation,  and  their  companions  were 
now  conducted  by  the  Jesuits.  The  scene  delighted  and  edified  them  ;  and  in 
the  transports  of  their  zeal,  they  seized  and  kissed  every  female  Indian  child 
on  whom  they  could  lay  hands,  "  without  minding,"  says  Father  Le  Jeune, 
"  whether  they  were  dirty  or  not."  "  Love  and  charity,"  he  adds,  "  triumphed 
over  every  human  consideration." 

When  the  nuns  visited  the  chapel  they  heard  for  the  first  time  the  voices 
of  the  Indians  singing  hymns — hymns,  too,  in  a  language  that  seemed  like 
the  chattering  and  twittering  of  birds.  Father  Le  Jeune  announced  that  a 
neophyte  was  to  be  baptized,  and  Madame  de  la  Peltrie  stood  as  godmother. 

The  Ursulines  retired  to  their  humble  abode.  It  was  a  small  building 
on  the  wharf,  and  they  had  merely  the  loan  of  it.  It  was,  perhaps,  prefer- 
able to  an  Indian  wigwam ;  in  which,  however,  the  heroic  Mother  Mary  of 
the  Incarnation  declared  that  she  was  prepared  to  lodge. 

Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation  and  her  Ursulines  began  laboring, 
"according  to  their  Institute,"  for  the  French  pupils  at  the  same  time  that 
they  were  tasking  their  energies  to  acquire  the  Indian  languages.  In  Father 
Le  Jeune,  S.  J.,  they  had  an  able  and  willing  teacher,  who  had  become  learned 
in  the  barbarous  dialects  of  America  only  at  the  expense  of  hard  toil,  anil  many 
months  of  forest  life  with  the  roving  savages. 

We  must,  however,  have  a  peep  at  the  interior  of  the  little  convent  and 
academy.  This  stately  residence  consisted  of  two  rooms,  the  larger  beinj; 
sixteen  feet  S(iuare.     The  other  was  smaller,  and    was   enriched  with  a  ccllal 


224  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

and  garret.  Tho  larger  apartment  served  as  a  dormitory,  the  beds  being  ar- 
ranged  in  tiers  along  the  wall;  but  it  was  also  a  parlor,  choir,  kitchen,  refec- 
tory, and  recreation  room.  The  smaller  apartment  was  the  class-room.  An 
additional  wing — a  sort  of  shed — served  as  a  kind  of  exterior  parlor,  where, 
through  the  usual  grating,  the  nuns  could  speak  of  God  and  religion  to  feath- 
ered chiefs  and  dusky  warriors. 

Happily,  the  Canadian  colonists  had  invented  an  order  of  architecture 
which  was  not  very  expensive.  A  few  strong  posts  of  oak,  maple,  or  some 
other  hard  wood,  were  driven  into  the  ground,  some  bars  bound  them  to- 
gether; the  whole  was  then  covered  with  planks,  and  finished  off  with  rough 
plastering.  The  edifice  was  thus  completed.  A  chapel  in  this  style,  before 
the  winter  closed  in,  was  raised,  and  received  the  "  gilded  tabernacle,"  the 
parting  gift  of  a  friend.  It  is  a  delightfully  "devout  chapel" — so  one  who 
saw  it  affirms — "agreeable  for  its  poverty;"  and,  above  all,  precious  to 
Mother  Mary  and  her  companions,  for  it,  was  the  residence  of  the  hidden 
Redeemer. 

The  Ursulines  had  scarcely  time  to  put  their  humble  abode  in  order, 
when  that  terrible  scourge,  the  small-pox,  suddenly  transformed  it  into  a  hos- 
pital. The  Indian  children  especially  were  attacked  with  virulence,  and  the 
nuns  had  abundant  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  kindness,  patience,  and  charity. 

Night  and  day  the  little  tawny  sufferers  were  tended  by  their  indefati- 
gable nurses.  Four  children  died  of  the  frightful  malady,  and  then  it  en- 
tu'ely  disappeared ;  but  not  until  the  whole  stock  of  linen  for  the  use  of  the 
Indian  children  and  the  convent  was  exhausted.  This  was  a  serious  loss. 
There  was  no  supply  to  be  got  nearer  than  France. 

Winter  passed  away,  and  the  annual  fleet  from  the  mother  country 
brought  two  more  Ursulines  to  the  little  convent  at  Quebec,  where  they  "live 
in  admirable  peace  and  union."  "Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation,"  wrote 
one  of  the  religious  newcomers,  "treats  me  with  too  much  honor.  The  sweet 
odor  of  sanctity  seems  to  surround  her,  and  to  embalm  all  who  approach  her. 
Mother  St.  Joseph  is  a  charming  person,  most  accomplished  in  every  way. 
During  recreation  she  often  makes  us  laugh  till  we  fairly  cry.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  be  melancholy  in  her  company.  She  loves  the  little  Indian  girls  like  a 
mother.  After  catechism,  she  teaches  them  to  sing  hymns  and  to  touch  the 
viol.  Sometimes  she  leaves  them  to  perform  one  of  their  own  pantomime 
dances,  and  the  little  scholars  make  no  ceremony  of  inviting  Madame  de  la 
Pcltrie  to  dance  with  them,  which  she  does  with  the  best  grace  in  the  world." 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


225 


Such  incidents  in  the  past  belong  to  the  beauties  of  American  Catholic 
history.  The  Ursulines  haJ,  indeed,  come  to  Canada  at  the  opportune 
moment.  The  field  in  which  apostolic  missionaries  labored  long  with  but 
little  success  had,  at  last,  begun  to  yield  fruit.  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarna- 
tion and  her  Ursulines  considered  themselves  supremely  happy  in  being  called 
lo  aid  in  gathering  in  the  precious  harvest. 

The  dilHculties  of  the  situation,  however,  were  enormous.  The  expenses 
were  large.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Indian  pupils — and  sometimes 
L-vcn  their  families — had  to  be  fed  and  clothed  gratis.  At  the  parlor,  where 
the  nuns  exercised  their  zeal  in  behalf  of  the  warriors,  it  was  not  merely  the 
bread  of  instruction  that  was  to  be  broken;  hut,  according  to  the  Indian  laws 
of  hospitality,  the  food  of  the  body  was  indispensable. 

Among  those  hardy  rovers  of  the  wilderness  in  Canada,  it  was  con- 
i.idcrcd  an  affront  to  send  away  a  guest  without  inviting  him  to  eat.  Ti;e 
"pot  of  sagainite"  h.id  to  be  constantly  on  the  fire.  From  time  to  time,  a 
more  "  splendid  banquet"  was  prepared  for  sixty  or  eighty  dusky  visitors. 
On  such  occasions  it  required  "  a  bushel  of  black  plums,  twenty-four  pounds 
i)f  bread,  a  due  ijuantity  of  Indian  meal  or  ground  peas,  a  dozen  of  tallow 
candles  melted,  and  two  or  three  pounds  of  fat  pork" — all  well  boiled  together. 
"  It  would  be  a  pity,"  writes  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation,  "  to  deprive 
these  poor  people  of  such  a  feast,  since  it  requires  no  more  to  content  even 
their  sachems  and  war-chiefs." 

It  inust  be  confessed  that  this  was  remarkable  work  for  five  Ursulines  to 
accomplish.  The  toil  was  beyond  their  strength.  The  visits  to  the  wonder- 
ful parlor  were  unceasing.  "  But,"  says  the  great  Mother  Mary,  "  the 
providence  of  our  Heavenly  Father  supplies  all  things.  The  pot  of  sagamite 
was  never  empty." 

Let  us  glance  at  another  side  of  the  picture  in  which  the  heroic  Mother 
Mary  of  the  Incarnation  was  the  chief  figure.  In  a  moral  sense,  the  distance 
was  infinite  from  the  forest-home  of  the  Indian  girl  to  the  convent.  She  was 
as  frolicsome  and  wild  as  the  little  animals  which  roamed  the  woods,  and  she 
kiK-w  as  little  as  they  of  obedience  and  wholesome  restraint.  The  only 
authority  she  was  invited  to  respect  was  that  of  her  mother,  or,  perhaps,  of 
iier  aged  grand-parents.  But  if  she  choose  to  be  willful,  on  no  account  was 
she  punished  or  compelled  to  obey. 

The  young  Indian  beauty's  clothing  was  scanty  and  of  the  roughest 
material.     In  winter  only  were  her  feet  covered  with  coarse  moccasins.     She 


226  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

knew  of  no  cosmetics  save  suet  and  bear's  grease;  and  hc-r  matted  hair  had 
never  lieen  visited  by  either  comb  or  scissors.  Her  bed  had  always  been  the 
ground,  near  the  wigwam  fire ;  and  this  was  shared  equally  by  dogs,  fleas, 
papooses,  warriors,  and,  in  short,  by  whole  families.  It  is  not  very  surprising 
to  learn  that  some  of  these  "wild  birds,"  caged  for  the  first  time,  occasionally 
flew  off  to  the  forest;  but  when  the  affection  and  great  patience  of  Mother 
Mary  of  the  Incarnation  had  tamed  them,  they  proved  most  open  to  instruc- 
tion and  quite  exemplary  to  piety. 

The  little  Algonquins  of  Sillery  were  the  first  pupils  the  Ursulines  under- 
took to  form;  and  as  neither  understood  the  language  of  the  other,  the  diffi- 
culty must  have  been  extreme.  But  "  a  great  desire  to  speak,"  wrote  Mother 
Mary,  "is  a  great  help  towards  doing  so."  We  may  readily  believe  it,  when 
we  are  told  that  the  nuns  were  able  to  begin  to  instruct  in  Algonquin  before 
the  end  of  two  months. 

Their  holy  toil  was  blessed  with  remarkable  success.  Mother  Mary  of 
the  Incarnation  declares  that  these  new  Christians  were  as  meek  as  little 
lambs,  and  that  after  their  baptism  they  preserved  an  admir.able  purity  of  con- 
science. Among  the  first  Indian  pupils,  the  venerable  lady  mentions  Mary 
Gamitiens,  who  was  but  six  years  of  age,  and  was  no  sooner  awake  in  the 
morning  than  her  little  lips  began  to  speak  in  the  language  of  prayer.  She 
said  her  beads  during  Mass,  and  sang  hymns  in  her  own  language. 

Mary  Negalamat  was  a  wild  child  of  the  woods,  and  at  first  did  not 
relish  school-life  at  the  convent.  Once  she  ran  off  to  the  forest,  tearing  her 
red  tunic  U  shreds.  But  she  was  brought  back,  and  became  a  good  girl. 
She  was  one  of  a  small  band  preparing  for  First  Communion.  The  instructors 
were  Father  Pigart,  SJ.,  and  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation.  Mary, 
especially,  was  in  great  jubilation. 

"  Why  are  you  so  joyful?"  inquired  somebody. 

"Oh!"  cried  this  dear  little  dusky  daughter  of  the  wilderness,  "  I  shall 
soon  receive  Jesus  into  my  heart.'' 

Mother  Mary's  first  Huron  pupil  was  a  niece  of  the  famous  war-chief 
Chihatenhwa.  On  a  visit  to  Quebec  he  had  seen  the  "  holy  virgins,"  robed  in 
black,  who  had  come  to  teach  the  little  Indian  girls  the  way  to  heaven.  He 
was  delighted,  and  great  was  the  admiration  of  his  tribe  when  he  recounted 
what  wonders  he  had  seen. 

Chihatenhwa  brought  his  little  Teresa  to  the  convent,  where  we  are  told 
inat  she  became  a  prodigy  of  piety  and  knowledge.     When  next  the  Huron 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


227 


flotilla  covered  the  river,  tlie  fond  uncle,  from  afar,  pointed  out  to  the  chief 
anil  warriors  who  accompanied  him  the  "  House  of  Jesus,"  as  the  Indians 
termed  the  convent.  He  hastened  to  meet  his  niece.  Teresa  was  only 
thirteen,  but  we  are  assured  she  had  the  zeal  of  an  apostle. 

Battle- scared  warriors  gave  willing  ear  to  her  girlish  exhortations;  and, 
on  returning  to  the  Huron  country,  they  published  her  fame  to  the  whole 
tribe.  "  Teresa  has  more  sense,"  they  exclaimed,  "  than  any  one  who  has 
ever  appeared  in  our  country.  Doubtless,  the  one  who  has  taught  her  is  also 
the  greatest  genius  among  the  French." 

She  was  deeply  attached  to  her  convent  home,  where  she  remained  for 
over  two  years.  When  the  day  of  separation  came,  it  was  most  painful. 
The  Jesuit  fathers  of  the  Huron  country  were  anxious  to  have  the  influence 
of  the  pious  young  seminarist  among  her  tribe;  and  her  parents  could  no 
longer  endure  her  absence.  Teresa,  like  a  brave  girl,  made  the  sacrifice,  and 
bade  adieu  to  her  dear  teachers.  From  Three  Rivers,  she  wrote  to  Mother 
Mary  of  the  Incarnation: 
"  M V  Dear  Mother: 

"  I  am  going  to  my  distant  home.  Wc  are  ready  to  start.  I  thank  you  for  all 
the  care  you  have  bestowed  upon  me.  I  thank  you  for  having  taught  me  to  serve  God. 
Is  it  for  a  thing  of  small  value  that  I  offer  you  my  thanks?     Never  shall  I  forget  you. 

Teresa." 

There  is,  we  fear,  many  a  "  young  lady"  of  this  "  enlightened  age" 
whose  numberless  "  accomplishments"  would  scarcely  enable  her  to  write 
with  the  good  sense  and  pointed  Isrevity  of  this  Indian  girl  of  the  seventeenth 
century;  and  who  could  not  truthfully  say  to  her  teachers,  "  I  thank  you  for 
having  taught  me  to  serve  God."  In  many  institutions  of  to-day  such  a  study 
is  not  even  elective.  God  is  absolutely  dismissed  from  the  curriculum,  and 
religion  is  politely  told  to  "get  out,"  or  to  "stand  at  the  door."  And  wh.it 
is  more  amazing  is,  that  this  is  considered  "  fashionable,"  and  many  persons 
who  have  never  been  conllnctl  in  a  lunatic  asylum  are  impressed  with  its 
"  respectability." 

The  conversion  of  the  Canadian  Indians,  which  Mother  Mary  of  the  In- 
carnation had  seen  prefigured  as  a  church  just  emerging  from  clouds  and 
darkness,  was  now  rapidly  progressing.  Whole  tribes  embracctl  the  f:>itl\ 
and  the  fervor  of  the  primitive  ages  was  revived. 

In  order  to  meet  the  growing  wants  of  the  colony,  a  new  convent  was 
erected.  In  1642  it  was  completed,  and  Mother  Marv  and  her  dauijhters 
bade  adieu  to  the  little  tenement   ou   the    whaif,  anil  look  up  their  ([uarlers  in 


228  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMI'IIS  Of  THE 

a  more  suitable  edifice.  It  was  stately  for  llie  times — hiiiit  of  ilarU-colored, 
roughly-shajied  blocks  of  stone.  It  was  three  stories  in  iieight,  twenty  -eight 
feet  wide,  and  ninety-two  feet  long.  To  the  Indians,  this  new  "House  of 
Jesus"  was  a  wonder,  and  many  a  long  journey  was  made  to  sec  it. 

The  regular  Indian  pupils,  boarders,  who  were  fed  and  clothed  at  the 
expense  of  the  convent,  soon  amounted  to  eighty.  But  besides  these,  the 
nuns  were  daily  called  upon  to  give  instruction  to  squaws  in  their  class-rooms, 
and  to  warriors  in  their  parlor.  This  was  a  large  family  to  attend  to,  but  the 
skill,  piety,  genius,  and  wonderful  business  capacity  of  Mother  Mary  of  the 
Incarnation  made  her  equal  to  every  demand. 

The  letters  of  the  illustrious  woman  during  this  period  are  most  charac- 
teristic. It  is  not  concerning  her  pupils,  her  labors,  and  her  wants,  that  she 
chiefly  entertains  her  friends.  In  her  boundless  charity  she  identifies  herself 
with  all  who  labor  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians.  Her  eagle  glance 
sweeps  over  the  vast  fields  of  missionary  zeal,  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
to  the  Great  Lakes.  She  numbers  the  chapels  that  are  built,  the  baptisms,  the 
holy  deaths.  Well  she  knows  all  the  roving  clans  that  come  to  be  instructed. 
And,  after  filling  ten  or  more  pages  with  such  topics,  she  adds:  "A  word 
now  of  our  pupils.  They  give  us  every  possible  satisfaction.  Their  piety, 
their  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  their  docility,  their  generosity  in 
overcoming  their  defects — all  this  is  ravishing.  But  it  strikes  us  less,  now 
that  we  are  accustomed  to  it." 

At  other  times  she  merely  says:  "  God  has  blessed  our  labors  this  year, 
as  in  preceding  ones.  We  have  as  much  as  we  can  do,  especially  during  the 
winter  months,  when  the  braves  leave  us  their  children  while  they  go  to 
hunt." 

Adversity,  however,  was  about  to  frown  on  this  fair  scene.  The  year 
1650,  so  fertile  in  trials  and  disasters,  was  drawing  to  a  close.  Tlie  din; 
shadows  of  a  clear,  cold  December  evening  cast  themselves  over  the  snow- 
white  landscape;  and  the  beautiful  constellations  which  lighted  the  wintry 
firmament  with  splendor  were  marking  the  progress  of  the  night.  The 
happy  inmates  of  the  convent  had  gone  to  rest;  but  tiiere  was  something  that 
did  not  sleep. 

It  was  a  pan  of  coals,  which  one  of  the  sisters,  charged  with  baking,  had 
placed  beneath  her  bread-trough,  well  closed  round  with  the  napkin  that  cov- 
ered the  dough.  It  was  not  her  custom  to  take  this  precaution  to  hasten  the 
action  of  the  yeast;  but  this  was  bread  for  New  Year's  day.     It  was  her  wish 


CATHOLIC  CllCRCll  IN  AMERICA  229 

to  have  it  liylit.  The  coals  thus  placed  on  duty  were  unperccivcd,  and,  alas! 
forgotten. 

The  fire  was  making  sad  havoc,  when  one  of  the  nuns  suddenly  leaped 
from  her  humble  couch.  All  were  asleep.  The  flames  were  just  bursting 
through  the  door  of  tiie  sleeping-room,  as  she  cried  out:  "  Up  for  your  lives, 
children,  and  lly!"  She  rushed  to  the  nun's  dormitory,  and  gave  the  alarm: 
"  Wake!   Wake!  the  house  is  on  lire.     Quick,  and  save  the  chiUIren!" 

In  a  moment  one  and  all  were  aware  of  the  peril.  The  fire  was  upon 
them  on  every  side.  A  nun  rushcu  to  the  bell  to  give  warning  of  their  dan- 
ger. The  door  was  opened,  and  the  startled  inmates  of  the  doomed  convent 
began  to  pass  out.  But  the  smoke  blinded,  and  the  flames  flew  like  lightning. 
Each  sister  l)ecame  a  heroine,  and  seizing  the  little  innocents  in  their  arms, 
they  hurried  them  out.  Suddenly  tlie  door  gave  way,  but  those  brave  ladies, 
regarilless  of  the  danger  of  suffocation,  dashed  through  passage-ways,  and 
hastened  with  their  precious  charges  to  a  place  of  safety. 

Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation,  chief  of  those  heroines,  ever  calm  and 
self-possessed,  did  what  she  could  to  save  the  lives  of  her  dear  pupils  and 
companions;  and  then,  with  thoughtful  care,  she  grasped  the  papers  of  the 
community,  and  attempted  to  carry  away  some  clothing  for  the  nuns,  who 
had  all,  in  their  night-dresses,  rushed  from  the  house  willi  the  children.  She 
was  alone  in  the  midst  of  the  burning  mass.  The  flames  were  consuminof 
the  rooms  beneath ;  the  crackle  of  the  victorious  fire  could  be  heard  overhead, 
and  was  rapidly  approaching  her  person,  when,  after  bowing  to  her  crucifix, 
to  signify  her  perfect  submission  to  the  will  of  God,  she  flew  along  the  pas- 
sage of  the  tlormitory  to  a  staircase — now  the  only  exit  possible.  Happily,  it 
was  free,  and  in  a  moment  she  was  at  the  door,  where  she  met  the  father 
superior  of  the  Jesuits  and  all  his  household,  who  had  hurried  to  the  rescue. 

Not  one  perished  on  that  eventful  night ;  some,  it  is  true,  were  ncaily 
naketl,  but  all  were  saved  from  the  savage  flames.  As  they  gazed  at  their 
late  home,  they  saw  the  flames  rising  higher  and  higher, wreathing  their  way 
through  the  wooden  roof.  At  length,  the  heavy  timbers  bent  and  fell  with 
a  crash.  It  was  the  brightness  of  day  at  this  sad  midnight  scene;  and  the 
cold,  silent  stars  looked  down  unmoved. 

"My  heart,"  wrote  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation,  "  preserved  its 
usual  peace.  I  felt  neither  grief  nor  anxiet),  but  united  m\  will  to  \l\? 
whose  hand  has  passed  over  us,  leaving  us  in  the  st.ite  in  which  lie  himself 
was  at  this  season,  in  the  cave  of  Uethlehem." 


2^0  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

The  Ursulines  and  their  pupils  were  fit  subjects  for  New  Year's  hospital- 
ity. The  hospital  sisters,  of  whom  we  shall  presently  hear,  did  everything  to 
alleviate  the  distress  of  the  sufferers.  During  three  weeks,  with  indefatigable 
zeal  these  "friends  in  need"  furnished  materials,  and  aided  in  putting  together 
complete  suits  of  apparel  for  each  of  the  Ursulines.  The  two  communities 
made  but  one;  they  sat  at  the  same  table,  and  slept  under  the  same  roof. 
Mother  Mary  and  her  religious  companions  next  moved  to  the  house  of 
Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  and  there  remained  during  the  building  of  another 
new  convent. 

Fifteen  months  passed  away,  and  by  the  blessing  of  Providence  and  the 
energetic  mind  of  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation,  the  Ursulines  and  their 
pupils  had  once  more  a  suitable  and  substantial  residence.  It  is  the  central 
building  of  that  pile  which  to-d.iy  constitutes  the  Ursuline  convent  at  Quebec. 
The  nuns  effected  their  removal  on  the  vigil  of  Pentecost,  1652;  and  we  are 
assured  that  few  baggage-wagons  were  required  on  the  occasion. 

The  educational  programme  of  this  pioneer  female  academy  of  Canada 
was  most  sensible,  practical,  and  Christian.  It  was  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, we  must  remember,  and  there  were  fewer  subjects  taught  than  at 
present.  But  what  was  done,  was  done  thoroughly.  The  pupils  were  taught 
reading,  grammar,  the  Christian  religion,  sacred  history,  practical  arithmetic, 
penmanship,  and  needlework.  We  hear  no  mention  of  a  piano,  and  the  for- 
midable ologies  were  omitted;  but  it  remained  for  our  day  to  try  the  ridiculous 
experiment  of  studying  everything — a  sure  road  to  the  mastery  of  nothing. 

During  the  winter  of  1663,  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  class  of  novices.  These  young  religious  were  eager  to  render 
themselves  useful,  and  to  avail  themselves  of  her  knowledge  of  the  Indian 
languages.  For  their  benefit,  and  for  the  use  of  the  other  nuns,  the  venerable 
lady  prepared  at  this  time  a  catechism  in  Huron,  three  catechisms  in  Algon- 
quin, and  a  large  dictionary  in  French  and  Algonquin.  After  completing 
this  literary  labor  of  love  for  the  Indian  race,  she  wrote  in  1664:  "  We  are 
still  more  occupied  in  the  classes  for  the  French  children ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  if  God  had  not  sent  the  Ursulines  to  Canada,  they  would  be  left  to  the 
most  deplorable  ignorance.  All  the  young  girls  in  the  coimtry  pass  through 
our  hands;  and  this  causes  piety  and  religion  to  flourish  everywhere.  The 
French  population  being  rapidly  on  the  increase,  our  employments  must  keep 
pace  with  that  increase." 

To  the  last  day  of  her  beautiful  life,  this   heroic  woman   was   the  fjreat 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  23 1 

teacher,  model,  and  mother  of  her  community.  She  wrote  several  text-books 
in  French,  Huron,  and  Algonquin.  She  excelled  in  all  kinds  of  needle-work 
and  embroidery,  as  well  as  in  painting  and  gilding.  She  sanctified  these 
accomplishments  by  contributing  the  fruit  of  her  own  hands  to  the  decoration 
of  chapels,  churches  and  altars  all  over  the  colony.  She  even  possessed 
remarkable  skill  in  sculpture  and  architecture,  and  patiently  instructed  the 
workmen  who  were  employed  in  decorating  the  interior  of  the  church,  guid- 
ing them  in  relation  to  the  proportions  of  the  columns  and  entablature.  Not 
the  minutest  detail  of  the  art  escaped  her  eye,  so  trained  and  artistic. 

Early  in  January,  1672,  a  serious  illness  threatened  the  precious  life  of 
Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation.  Her  pupils  and  her  spiritual  daughters 
were  overwhelmed  with  grief,  and  besought  Heaven  to  spare  their  beloved 
friend  and  mother.  Even  the  venerable  patient  herself  was  unable  to  refuse 
them  the  consolation  of  joining  in  their  petitions  so  far  as  to  say:  "My  God, 
if  I  may  yet  be  of  service  to  this  little  community,  I  refuse  neither  labor  nor 
fatigue.     Thy  will  be  done." 

"No,  my  good  Mother,"  urged  the  kind  Father  Lallament,  S.  J.,  "you 
must  join  our  petitions,  and  ask  to  recover."  The  very  soul  of  obedience, 
she  did  as  commanded,  and  a  few  weeks  more  were  obtained. 

At  length,  on  the  29th  of  April,  it  became  necessary  to  administer  the 
last  sacraments;  and  from  that  moment  there  was  something  so  divine  about 
Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation  that  she  seemed  no  longer  of  this  earth. 
Fond  hearts  surrounded  the  dying  saint,  whose  humble  pillow  seemed  to  be 
the  very  porch  of  paradise. 

One  of  her  old  companions  reminded  her  of  her  gifted  son — Dom  Claude 
Martin,  who  had  become  a  learned  Benedictine  father — and  asked  a  message 
for  him.  Maternal  love  seemed,  for  an  instant,  to  recall  the  venerable  laily 
to  this  world,  and  she  answered  with  emotion,  "  Tell  him  that  I  bear  him 
away  with  me  in  my  heart.      In  heaven  I  will  ask  for  his  perfect  santillcation." 

Her  French  and  Indian  pupils  knelt  around  her  to  receive  her  last  bless- 
ing, and  to  look  on  that  holy  and  majestic  countenance,  which  seemed  to  be 
illumined  by  a  ray  of  immortality.  She  died  on  the  30th  of  April,  1672, 
aged  seventy-two  years,  thirty-three  of  which  she  had  spent  in  Can.ada. 

Of  the  pious  Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  mentioned  above  as  the  foundress  of 
this  convent,  it  may  be  briefly  stated  that  she  was  Viorn  of  a  wealthy  and 
noble  famdy  at  Alencjon,  France,  in  1603;  and,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  in 
compliance   witn   her  father's    wishes,  she  married  Charles  de  la  Peltrie,  a 


232  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

gentleman  of  rank  and  character.     Five  years  later,  her  husband  died,  and 
she  found  herself  a  widow  and  childless. 

A  perusal  of  the  first  Jesuit  "  Relations"  attracted  her  attention  to  Canada. 
There  was  no  school  for  girls  in  the  wilderness,  and  she  nobly  determined  to 
spend  her  life  and  fortune  in  founding  such  an  institution.  But  it  was  only 
after  overcoming  a  host  of  obstacles  that  she  found  herself  free  to  devote  her- 
self to  the  good  work. 

From  Father  Poncet,  S.  J.,  Madame  de  la  Pcltrie  learned  of  the  remark- 
able Ursulihe  nun — venerable  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation — and  subse- 
quently on  a  visit  to  Tours,  made  her  acquaintance.  She  decided  to  found  an 
Ursuline  convent  at  Quebec,  the  formation  and  sailing  of  their  party  being 
narrated  above. 

When  Madame  de  la  Feltrie  visited  an  Indian  village  near  Quebec,  she 
pressed  every  little  dusky  girl  she  met  to  her  bosom,  "and  kissed  her  with  a 
mother's  fondness,  unmindful  of  much  that  might  have  created  disgust." 
Canada  was  now  to  have  its  pioneer  school  for  the  instruction  of  girls — 
humble  at  first,  but  destined  to  grow  in  fame  and  usefulness. 

"  Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  who  had  never  desired  to  be  rich,"  says  the  historian 
of  New  France,  "  and  who  had  so  cheerfully  become  poor  for  Christ's  sake, 
could  not  refrain  from  s.aying  that  she  wished  to  have  at  her  disposal  enough 
to  draw  all  the  tribes  of  Canada  to  a  knowledge  of  the  true  God;  and  she 
took  a  firm  resolution,  which  she  observed  her  whole  life,  to  spare  herself  in 
nothing  where  the  salvation  of  souls  was  to  be  effected.  Her  zeal  led  her 
even  to  till  the  soil  with  her  own  hands,  to  have  wherewith  to  relieve  the 
poor  neophytes.  In  a  few  days  she  had  stripped  herself  of  all  she  had  re- 
tained for  her  own  use,  so  as  to  reduce  herself  to  want  of  actual  necessaries, 
in  order  to  cloth  the  children  brought  to  her  almost  naked;  and  her  whole  life 
was  but  a  series  of  acts  of  the  most  heroic  charity." 

Within  the  walls  of  the  Ursuline  convent  at  Quebec  both  French  and 
Indian  girls  received  a  solid,  refined,  and  religious  education.  From  time  to 
time,  when  the  little  dusky  pupils  were  permitted  to  have  one  of  their  pan- 
tomimic dances  they  invited  Madame  de  la  Peltrie  to  join  in  the  sport,  and  the 
charming,  kind-hearted  lady,  who  knew  how  to  be  all  to  all,  did  so  "  with 
the  best  grace  in  the  world." 

She  was  present  at  the  foundation  of  Montreal,  and  helped  to  decorate 
its  first  rustic  altar.  When  Governor  De  Maisonneuve  erected  a  large  cross 
on    Mont  Royal,  and   Mass  was  said,  Madame  de  la  Peltrie  received  Holy 


LAFAYETTE. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  2 J) 

Communion  "on  the  mountain-top,  a  spectacle  to  the  virgin  world  out- 
stretched below." 

The  joy  of  the  pupils  at  the  convent  of  Quebec  was  unbounded,  when 
the  foundress  returned  to  leave  them  no  more.  It  is  not  much  of  a  house, 
that  convent  and  seminary  of  the  Ursulines;  between  the  cracks  of  the  planks 
you  can  see  the  bright  winter  stars;  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  a 
candle  burning  in  the  rooms.  It  is  no  easy  matter  to  accommodate  all  their 
pupils,  and  the  sisterhood  in  the  bargain.  The  beds,  for  instance,  made  of 
pinc-plank,  have  to  be  arranged  in  tiers,  after  the  manner  of  berths  in  a 
canal-boat.  They  are  obliged  to  cut  up.  their  own  bedclothes  to  make  gar- 
ments for  the  poor  little  Indian  girls  as  they  come  in,  and  their  chief  articles 
of  diet,  indeed  their  only  ones  for  a  while,  are  salt  fish  and  lard.  And  then 
the  children.  They  are  not  all  like  Mary  Gamitien,  who  needs  no  spur  to 
daybreak  devotion ;  who  is  up  with  the  sun,  reciting  her  rosary,  and  who  sings 
beautiful  hymns  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  the  Huron  tongue.  They  are  not 
like  her  when  they  come  out  of  the  woods.  But  they  are  brought  to  the 
gootl  sisters  with  no  more  clothing  than  a  solid  coat  of  grease,  well  rubbed 
in  by  their  parents.  And  to  get  that,  and  worse,  off  of  those  little  bodies, 
takes  a  profound  and  patient  scrubbing,  and  a  frequent  changing  of  garments 
for  months.  Nice  work  for  those  delicate  French  ladies;  but  they  dispute 
for  the  ofiRce  in  their  humble,  gentle  way.  Madame  de  la  Peltrie  gets  it  the 
first  year;  Alother  Marie  of  St.  Joseph  monopolizes  it  the  next.  And  while 
the  scrubbing  goes  on,  and  indeed  always,  there  are  men  and  women  waiting 
in  the  parlor  to  be  fed  through  the  grating  by  others  of  the  nuns.  To  the 
children  Madame  de  la  Peltrie  devoted  her  life.  She  shared  the  labors  of 
the  nuns,  washing,  <lressing,  and  teaching  the  little  Indian  girls  committed 
to  their  care;  and  the  whole  colony  mourned  her  loss,  when,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-eight,  the  angel  of  death  called  her  to  receive  the  reward  of  the  faithful 
Christian,  on  the  ISth  of  November,  IGTl. 

But  her  blessed  example  lives  still.  \\''omcn  like  her  are  the  glory  of 
Catholicity.  They  seek  not  an  outlet  for  their  energies  on  noisy  platforms 
and  in  shadowy  reforms,  but  in  those  silent  and  unheralded  works  of  mercy 
that  imply  the  sacrifice  of  self  for  others. 

This  pious,  high-born  lady  gave  Canada  its  first  female  academy;  and 
for  thirty-two  years  devoted  her  time,  and  gifts,  and  wealth  to  its  progress 
and  prosperity.  It  must  be  understood  that  she  was  not  an  LTrsuline  nun 
umlcr  vows;  but  simply  a  religious  woman,  who  chose  to  live  in  a  poor  little 


234  TRIALS   AXD   TRlihUrHS   OF    THE 

cottage  at  the  convent  she  had  fouiuk-cl.  She  often  heard  the  war-whoops  of 
(he  Iroquois  thirsting  for  scalps.  To  the  last  she  preserved  her  gpy  amiability 
and  handsome  countenance,  spiritualized  by  a  beautiful  life.  "  No  one  ever 
thought  she  was  growing  old,"  writes  an  Ursuline. 

As  a  fitting  append  to  the  biographies  of  these  noble  ladies,  we  now  give 
a  third,  of  one  who  for  a  time  was  known  to  both,  and  is  no  less  deserving  of 
our  grateful  veneration.  Miss  Jane  Mance,  whose  name  is  justly  f ainous  in 
the  early  history  of  Canada,  was  born  in  1606,  at  Nogent-!e-Roi,  which  is  some 
distance  from  Langres,  in  France.     She  belonged  to  a  most  honorable  family. 

In  more  than  one  place  the  lives  of  the  saints  display  the  fact  that  there 
are  certain  children  on  whom  God  has  particular  designs,  and  whose  spiritual 
nature  becomes  singularly  developed  even  in  their  most  tender  years.  Such 
a  child  was  Jane  ISIance.  At  six  or  seven  years  of  age  she  formed  the  aston- 
ishing resolution  of  consecrating  herself  to  God  by  a  vow  of  perpetual 
chastity.  "Often,"  writes  one  of  her  religious  companions,  "she  herself 
related  to  me  this  incident  of  her  childhood." 

But  the  beautiful  piety  which  she  professed  was  entire!)-  free  from  those 
faults  but  too  common  to  devout  persons.  It  was  clothed  in  no  stiff  mannerism. 
It  never  stood  in  the  way  of  other  duties.  It  was  never  disagreeable.  The 
great  rectitude  of  the  young  girl's  soul,  the  elevation  and  nobility  of  her  sen- 
timents, and,  above  all,  the  Divine  wisdom  by  which  she  was  guided,  made 
her  learn  to  do  all  for  God  without  in  any  way  offending  the"  claims  and 
courtesies  of  the  world.  Thus  she  grew  up,  and  in  time  became  an  accom- 
plished woman,  of  delicate  constitution  and  dignified,  graceful  bearing. 

Though  leading  the  life  of  a  religious  in  this  world,  Miss  Mance  felt  no 
vocation  for  the  cloister.  On  the  death  of  her  parents,  therefore,  she  found 
herself  entire  mistress  of  her  actions.  She  placed  no  bounds  to  her  fervor. 
She  felt  gradually  taking  possession  of  her  soul  a  great  desire  to  serve  Christ 
and  His  Holy  Mother  in  some  barbarous  country.  The  perusal  of  the  Jesuit 
"Relations"  and  the  report  of  !Madame  de  la  Peltrie's  labors  in  Canada  fanned 
the  flame  in  her  breast,  and  she  felt  that  she  had  now  found  her  true  vocation. 
It  was  to  go  to  the  wild  banks  of  the  historic  vSt.  Lawrence. 

What  Canada  is  she  has  no  idea,  or,  at  least,  a  very  confused  and  indis- 
tinct one.  Her  friends  think  it  is  a  notion  caught  from  the  perusal  of  some 
traveler's  story.  Her  confessor  is  consulted.  He  has  never  heard  of  Montreal, 
and  he  treats  his  penitent  as  a  visionary;  but,  as  she  persists  in  her  notions,  he 
writes  to  Paris  for  information. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  I.\  AMEkICA 


235 


The  answers  confirm  the  purpose  of  Miss  Mnnce.  She  goes  to  Paris,  is 
introduced  to  the  Duchess  de  Bullion,  a  great  friend  of  the  Montreal  sciicmc. 
The  vocation  is  tried,  ascertained  and  followed.  "I  will  go,"  she  said,  "give 
me,  madame,  a  letter  to  the  directors  of  the  company."  The  pious  duchess 
gave  her  a  note  to  Monsieur  de  la  Dauversitjre,  and  a  purse  of  20,000  livres 
for  expenses. 

She  pursued  her  way  to  New  Rochelle,  whence  ships  were  to  sail  for 
Canada.  On  the  day  after  her  arri\  al  in  that  city,  as  she  entered  the  church 
of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  she  met  a  gentleman   coming  out.     It  was  Dauversiere. 

"  Then,"  says  the  Abb(j  Faillon,  "  these  two  persons,  who  had  never 
seen  nor  heard  of  each  other,  were  enlightened  supernaturally,  whereby  their 
most  hidden  thoughts  were  mutually  made  known."  A  long  conversation 
passed  between  them;  and  the  dc'iights  of  this  interview  were  never  effaced 
from  the  mind  of  Miss  Mance.  "  She  used  to  speak  of  it  like  a  seraph," 
writes  Sister  Mary  Morin,  "  and  far  better  than  many  a  learned  doctor  could 
have  done." 

In  all  probability  she  was  warned  that  the  rude  walls  of  Montreal  must 
be  cemented  in  blood ;  that  there  were  tribes  of  hostile  savages  who  would 
oppose,  perhaps  destroy  the  struggling  colony;  and,  finally,  that  she  would 
be  all  alone  to  care  for  the  sick  and  wounded.  But  when  these  representa- 
tions only  increased  the  heroic  lady's  zeal,  the  good  old  man  blessed  God  and 
bade  her  go  in  His  holy  name.  And  when  he  did  that,  he  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  famous  Hotel  Dieu  in  Montreal,  where  now  dozens  of  devoted  nuns 
are  consecrated  to  the  service  of  Christ  in  his  poor! 

The  largest  city  on  the  St.  Lawrence  had  a  remarkable  origin.  The  story 
of  its  e.arly  days  has  become  a  part  of  American  history.  We  must  glance  at 
it  here. 

While  Canada  was  yet  nearly  all  a  wilderness,  God  inspired  a  pious  lay- 
man to  establish  a  colony  in  honor  of  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin  on  the  Island 
of  Montreal.  This  was  Jerome  Ic  Royer  de  la  Dauversiere,  a  gentleman  of 
Anjou,  in  France. 

There  lived  at  Paris,  at  this  time,  a  young  priest,  the  Abb(5  John  James 
Olier,  afterwarils  known  as  the  illustrious  founder  of  the  seminary  of  St. 
Sulr.ice.   Tne  Almighty,  it  seems,  inspired  him  with  a  similar  ilcsign. 

Dauversit:re  pondered  the  revelation  which  he  hail  leccived,  became  con- 
vinced that  it  was  from  (iod,  and  set  out  for  Paris  to  ImhI  suiiU'  nuaiis  of 
accomplishing  the  assigned  ta^k.     As  he  prayetl  for    rew  light  in  the  famous 


236  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

church  of  Notre  Dame,  he  was  favored  with  a  vision  in  whicii  Christ  assured 
him  tliat  he  would  not  want  for  wisdom  and  strcngtli  to  do  liis  work.  He 
was  comforted. 

From  Paris  this  good  gentleman  went  to  the  neighhorinj^  chateau  of 
Meudon,  which  overlooks  the  valley  of  the  Seine,  not  far  from  St.  Cloud 
He  entered  the  gallery  of  the  old  castle,  and  saw  a  priest  approaching  him. 
It  was  the  Abb6  Olier.  They  had  never  seen  or  even  heard  of  each  other; 
yet,  impelled  by  a  kind  of  inspiration,  they  recognized  one  another  at  once, 
even  to  the  depths  of  their  hearts;  and  saluting  each  other  by  name,  as  we 
read  of  St.  Anthony  and  St.  Paul  the  Hermit, they  embraced  like  two  friends 
who  had  met  after  a  long,  long  separation. 

"Sir,"  exclaimed  the  AbbtS  Olier,  "I  know  your  design,  and  I  go  to 
commend  it  to  God  at  the  holy  altar." 

And  he  went  at  once  to  say  Mass  in  the  chapel.  Dauversicre  received 
the  Holy  Communion  at  his  hands;  and  then,  after  thanksgiving,  they 
walked  for  three  hours  in  the  park,  discussing  their  plans.  They  were  of 
one  mind  in  respect  both  to  objects  and  means;  and  when  they  parted  the 
Abb(5  Olier  gave  Dauversiere  a  hundred  louis,  saying:  "This  is  to  begin 
the  work  of  God." 

The  pious  undertaking  at  once  began  to  shape  itself.  A  society  was 
formed.  It  was  in  1636  that  the  company  of  Montreal  was  founded  "  for 
the  conversion  of  the  savages  and  the  maintenance  of  the  Catliolic  religion  in 
Canada."  Five  priests,  a  cardinal,  a  duchess,  two  dukes,  twelve  other  nobles, 
and  a  simple  Sister  of  Charity,  formed  the  association;  and,  for  four  years, 
they  labored  faithfully  to  bring  their  scheme  into  successful  operation.  Their 
plan  was  this — to  build  upon  the  Island  of  Montreal  a  town  which  should  be 
at  once  a  home  for  the  missions,  a  defense  against  the  Indians,  a  center  of 
commerce  for  the  neighboring  people,  which  should  be  consecr.ited  to  the 
Most  Holy  Virgin  and  be  called  Ville- Marie. 

"So,  when  all  was  ready,  on  the  morrow  of  the  Feast  of  our  Lad^-'s 
Purification,  the  associates  assembled  in  the  cathedral  church  of  Notre 
Dame.  The  Abbd  Olier  offered  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  at  the  altar  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  whereat  all  the  laics  communicated,  while  those  of  tlic  com- 
pany who  were  priests  said  Mass  at  other  altars  with  the  same  intention,  fer- 
vently imploring  the  Queen  of  Angels  to  bless  their  enterprise,  and  to  take 
the  Island  of  Montreal  under  her  holy  and  most  especial  protection." 

The  collection,  after  this  ceremon}-,  was  200,000  francs. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  237 

"Now,"  writes  the  non-Catholic  Parkman,  "to  look  for  a  moment  at 
their  plan.  Their  eulogists  say,  and  with  perfect  truth,  that,  from  a  worldly 
point  of  view,  it  was  mere  folly.  The  partners  mutually  bound  theinselves 
to  seek  no  return  for  the  nioney  expended.  Their  profit  was  to  be  reaped  in 
the  skies ;  and,  indeed,  there  was  none  to  be  reaped  on  earth.  The  feeble  settle- 
ment at  Quebec  was  at  this  time  in  danger  of  utter  ruin,  for  the  Iroquois, 
enraged  at  the  attacks  made  on  them  by  Champlain,  had  begun  a  fearful  course 
of  retaliation,  and  the  very  existence  of  the  colony  trembled  in  the  balance. 

"  But  if  Quebec  was  exposed  to  their  ferocious  inroads  Montreal  was  in- 
comparably more  so.  A  settlement  here  would  be  a  perilous  outpost — a  hand 
thrust  into  the  jaws  of  the  tiger.  It  would  provoke  attack,  and  lie  almost  in 
the  path  of  the  war-parties.  The  associates  could  gain  nothing  by  the  fur- 
trade,  for  they  were  not  allowed  to  share  in  it. 

"On  the  other  hand,  danger  apart,  the  place  was  an  excellent  one  for  a 
mission:  for  here  met  two  great  rivers — the  St.  Lawrence,  with  its  countless 
tributaries,  flowed  in  from  the  west,  while  the  Ottawa  descended  froin  the 
north,  and  Montreal,  embraced  by  their  uniting  waters,  was  the  key  to  a  vast 
inland  navigation.  Thither  the  Indians  would  naturally  resort ;  and  thence 
the  missionaries  could  make  their  way  into  the  heart  of  a  boundless  heathen- 
dom. None  of  the  ordinary  motives  of  colonization  had  part  in  this  design. 
It  owed  its  conception  and  its  birth  to  religious  zeal  alone." 

Dauversiere  and  his  companions  purchased  the  Island  of  Montreal,  and 
matured  their  glorious  undertaking.  First,  they  would  send  out  forty  men 
to  take  possession  of  the  island,  intrench  themselves  and  raise  crops.  Then 
they  would  build  a  house  for  the  missionaries,  and  two  convents  for  the  nuns. 
In  tile  meantime,  the  Abbci  Olier  was  toiling  near  Paris  to  found  the  semin- 
ary of  priests,  and  Dauversiere,  at  La  Fleche,  bent  himself  to  the  work  of 
forming  a  community  of  hospital  nuns.  IIow  the  school  nuns  were  pro- 
vided we  shall  learn  in  the  life  of  Mother  Margaret  Bourgeois. 

The  associates  needed  a  soldier-governor  to  take  charge  of  their  forty 
men;  and,  no  doubt  directed  by  Providence,  they  soon  found  a  rare  man. 
This  was  Paul  de  Chomedey,  Sieur  de  Maisonneuve,  a  devout  aiui  valiant 
gentleman,  whose  bright  sword  had  flashed  on  many  a  hard-contested  field, 
who,  in  an  age  of  heresy,  had  kept  the  Faith  intact,  and  whose  life  shone 
like  a  star  in  the  midst  of  the  unbridled  license  by  which  he  was  surrounded. 
He  had  made  a  vow  of  chastity.  He  loved  his  profession  of  arms,  and  wished 
to  consecrate  his  sword  to  the  Church. 


238  TRIALS  .IXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

One  of  the  vessels  that  bore  this  <jaHant  soldier  and  his  forty  men  had 
the  honor  of  carrying  Miss  Mance  across  the  stormy  Athmtic  on  her  heroic 
mission  of  charity.  The  expedition  hmdcd  at  Quebec  too  late  in  the  season 
of  1641  to  ascend  to  Montreal.  The  long  and  dreary  winter  had  to  he 
passed  at  Quebec. 

Early  in  May  Maisouueuve  and  his  followers,  accompanied  by  Miss 
Mance,  began  to  push  their  way  up  the  St.  Lawrence.  They  had  gained  an 
unexpected  recruit  during  the  winter  in  the  person  of  Madame  de  la  Peltrie, 
the  pious  foundress  of  the  Ursulinc  convent  at  Quebec.  This  little  hand  of 
chosen  Catholics  was  to  found  the  greatest  city  in  Canada. 

"  On  the  171)1  of  May,  1643,  Maisonneuve's  little  flotilla — a  pinnace,  a 
flat-bottomed  craft  moved  by  sails,  and  two  row-boats — approached  Montreal; 
and  all  on  board  raised  in  unison  a  hymn  of  praise.  Montmagny  was  with 
them,  to  deliver  the  island,  in  behalf  of  the  company  of  tlie  hundred  as- 
sociates, to  Maisonneuve,  representative  of  the  associates  of  Montreal.  And 
here,  too,  was  Father  Vimont,  superior  of  the  missions,  for  the  Jesuits  had 
been  prudently  invited  to  accept  the  spiritual  charge  of  the  young  colony. 

"  On  the  following  dav,  they  glided  along  the  green  and  solitary  shores, 
now  thronged  with  the  life  of  a  busy  city,  and  landed  on  the  spot  which 
Champlain,  thirty-one  years  before,  had  chosen  as  the  fit  site  of  a  settlement. 
It  was  a  tongue  or  triangle  of  land,  formed  by  the  junction  of  a  rivulet  with 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  known  afterwards  as  Point  Calliere.  The  rivulet  was 
bordered  by  a  meadow,  and  beyond  rose  the  forest  with  its  vanguard  of 
scattered  trees.  Early  spring  flowers  were  blooming  in  the  young  grass,  and 
birds  of  varied  plumage  flitted  among  the  boughs. 

"Maisonneuve  sprang  ashore,  and  fell  on  his  knees.  His  followers 
imitated  his  example;  and  all  joined  their  voices  in  enthusiastic  songs  of 
thanksgiving.  Tents,  baggage,  arms,  and  stores  were  landed.  An  altar  was 
raised  on  a  pleasant  spot  near  at  hand  ;  and  Mademoiselle  Mance,  with 
Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  aided  by  the  servant,  Charlotte  Barrd,  decorated  it 
with  a  taste  which  was  the  admiration  of  the  beholders. 

"  Now  all  the  company  gathered  before  the  shrine.  Here  stood  Vimont, 
in  the  rich  vestments  of  his  office.  Here  were  the  two  ladies,  with  their 
servant  ;  Montmagny,  no  very  willing  spectator;  Maisonneuve,  a  warlike 
figure,  erect  and  tall,  his  men  clustering  around  him — soldiers,  sailors,  artisans, 
and  laborers — all  alike  soldiers  at  need.     They  knelt  in  reverent  silence  as 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  z^l 

the  Host  was  raised  aloft,  and    w  hen  the  rite  was  over,  the  priest  turned  and 
addressed  them : 

"  'You  are  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  that  shall  rise  and  grow  till  it; 
branches  overshadow  the  earth.  You  are  few,  but  your  work  is  the  work  of 
God.     His  smile  is  on  you,  and  your  children  shall  fill  the  land.' 

"  The  afternoon  waned,  the  sun  sank  behind  the  western  forest,  and  twi- 
light  came  on.  Fire-flies  were  twinkling  over  the  darkened  meadow.  They 
caught  them,  tied  them  with  threads  into  shining  festoons,  and  hung  them 
before  the  altar  where  the  Host  remained  exposed.  Then  they  pitched  their 
tents,  lighted  their  bivouac  fires,  stationed  their  guards,  and  lay  down  to  rest. 
Such  was  the  birth-night  of  Montreal." 

The  intrepid  Miss  Mance  now  began  her  work — a  work  which  is  con- 
tinued to  this  day.  A  house  and  chapel  rose  up  swiftly,  and  on  the  15th  of 
August,  1643,  it  was  opened  to  celebrate  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption  of  the 
Most  Holy  Virgin.  As  the  colony  grew,  the  number  of  its  sick  augmented. 
Miss  Mance  was  alone.  The  house  was  soon  found  too  small,  and  the  labor 
too  great  for  any  one  person,  however  zealous. 

But  let  us  glance  aside  for  a  moment  at  the  brave  protectors  of  Ville- 
Marie.  While  all  others  there  were  contributing  to  the  honor  of  their 
heavenly  patroness,  their  safety  was  watched  over  by  the  veteran  guard  of 
De  Maisonneuve.  This  good  commander  had  enrolled  from  among  his  sol- 
diers sixty-three  volunteers,  all  specially  vowed  to  defend  the  town  of  Our 
Lady.  This  number  was  suggested  by  the  years  of  her  blessed  life  on  earth; 
and  these  hardy  sons  of  Old  France  formed  thus,  in  the  forests  of  America,  a 
sort  of  military  confraternity. 

They  met  daily  for  the  recital  of  the  Rosary.  They  wore  the  medal  of 
their  order  as  a  military  decoration;  and  they  approaced  the  holy  sacra- 
ments on  all  the  feasts  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven.  But  it  was  just  on  this 
account  that  they  were  the  first  to  confront  the  cannon  of  the  English,  or  to 
answer  with  their  battle-cry  of  Ave  Purissima!  the  war-whoop  of  the  fierce 
Iroquois. 

Miss  Mance  shared  with  joy  the  hardships,  dangers,  and  untoUl  priva- 
tions which  marked  the  beginning  of  the  new  town  of  Ville-Maric.  During 
seventeen  years  she  had  no  one  to  aid  her,  except  four  or  five  charitable 
women,  whom  she  had  brought  from  France,  and  who  shared  with  her  tho 
ceaseless  but  holy  duties  of  attending  to  the  sick  and  the  wounded  in  the  littlt! 
hospital. 


240  TRIALS  .iXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

There  was  something  about  this  admirable  huiy  which  impressed  all  with 
whom  she  conversed.  Once  she  visited  the  venerable  Olier  in  France,  and  he 
is  said  to  have  remarked  that  she  was  "  full  of  the  light  of  God,  by  which 
she  was  surrounded  .as  by  a  sun." 

"Mademoiselle  Mance,"  writes  Parkman,  "found  no  lack  of  hospital 
work,  for  blood  and  blows  were  rife  at  Montreal,  where  the  woods  were  full 
of  Iroquois,  and  not  a  moment  was  without  its  peril.  Though  years  began 
to  tell  upon  her,  she  toiled  patiently  at  her  dreary  task,  till,  in  the  winter  of 
1657,  she  fell  on  the  ice  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  broke  her  right  arm,  and  dislo- 
cated the  wrist.  Bouchard,  the  surgeon  of  Montreal,  set  the  broken  bones, 
but  did  not  discover  the  dislocation.  The  arm  in  consequence  became  totally 
useless,  and  her  health  wasted  away  under  incessant  and  violent  pain. " 

"  Maisonneuve,  the  civil  and  military  chief  of  the  settlement,  advised  her 
to  go  to  France  for  assistance  in  the  work  to  which  she  was  no  longer  equal ; 
and  Margaret  Bourgeois  whose  pupils,  white  and  red,  had  greatly  multi- 
plied, resolved  to  go  with  her  for  a  similar  object.  They  set  out  in  Septem- 
ber, 165S,  landed  at  Rochelle,  and  went  thence  to  Paris.  Here  they  repaired 
to  the  seminary  of  St.  Sulpice;  for  the  priests  of  this  community  were  joined 
with  them  in  the  work  at  Montreal,  of  which  they  were  afterwards  to  become 
the  feudal  proprietors.     .     . 

"  Olier,  the  founder  of  St.  Sulpice,  had  lately  died,  and  the  two  pilgrims 
would  fain  pay  their  homage  to  his  heart,  which  the  priests  of  his  community 
kept  as  a  precious  relic  enclosed  in  a  leaden  box.  The  box  was  brought, 
when  the  thought  inspired  Mademoiselle  Mance  to  try  its  miraculous  efficacy 
and  invoke  the  intercession  of  the  departed  founder.  She  did  so,  touching 
her  disabled  arm  gently  with  the  leaden  casket.  Instantly  a  grateful  warmth 
pervaded  the  shriveled  limb,  and  from  that  hour  its  use  was  restored." 

Her  next  care  was  to  visit  Madame  de  Bullion,  a  devout  lady  of  great 
wealth,  who  was  usually  designated  at  Montreal  as  "  the  unknown  benefac- 
tress," because  she  did  not  trumpet  her  good  acts,  and  her  charities  were  the 
main  stay  of  the  feeble  colony.  This  lady  received  Miss  Mance  with  enthu- 
siasm, and  gave  her  the  munificent  sum  of  22,000  francs. 

Our  heroine  next  repaired  to  the  town  of  La  Fl6che  to  visit  her  friend 
Dauversi^re.  Miss  Mance,  as  we  have  already  learned,  was  the  pioneer  who 
went  to  Montreal  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  hospital  nuns,  that  for  the  last 
eighteen  years  DauversiSre  had  labored  to  form  at  La  Fleche.  The  time  at 
length  was  come. 


C.ITIIOUC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  241 

Three  of  the  hospital  nims  of  St.  Joseph,  Sisters  Judith  Moicau  cic 
Br(5soles,  Catherine  Mace,  and  Mary  Maillet,  were  chosen,  and  after  encounter- 
ing many  difficulties,  embarked  with  Miss  Mance  at  Rochelle.  Margaret 
Bourgeois  was  also  on  hoard. 

During  the  long  and  stormy  voyage,  these  heroines  of  charity  hatl 
abundant  opportunity  to  exercise  their  zeal  in  the  service  of  the  sick.  The 
fdthy  and  infected  ship  was  buffeted  by  storms  for  two  months,  and  the  woe- 
begone passengers  were  wasted  by  a  contagious  fever.  Nearly  all  were 
attacked.  Miss  Mance  was  reduced  to  extremity.  Eight  or  ten  died  and 
were  dropped  overboard,  after  a  pr;iyer  from  the  two  priests.  At  length 
land  hove  in  sight;  the  piny  odors  of  the  forest  regaled  their  languid  senses 
as  they  sailed  up  the  broad  estuary  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  anchored  under 
the  rock  of  Quebec. 

Miss  Mance  and  her  religious  companions  soon  set  out  for  Montreal. 
The  journey  cost  them  fifteen  days  more  of  danger  and  hardshiji.  But  they 
were  warmly  received;  and  at  once  bent  themselves  to  the  grand  work  of 
tlicir  li\cs. 

The  poverty  of  the  nuns,  at  first,  was  almost  incredible.  "When  their 
clothes  were  worn  out,"  says  I'arkman,  "  they  were  unable  to  replace  them, 
and  were  forced  to  patch  them  with  such  material  as  came  to  hand.  Maison- 
neuve,  the  governor,  and  the  pious  Madame  d'AUebout,  being  once  on  a  visit 
to  tlie  hospital,  amused  themselves  with  trying  to  guess  of  what  stuff  the 
habits  of  the  nuns  had  originally  Ijeen  made,  and  were  unable  to  agree  on  the 
point  in  question. 

"  Their  chamber,  which  they  occupied  for  many  years,  being  hastily  built 
of  ill-seasoned  planks,  lej  in  the  piercing  cold  of  the  Canadian  winter  through 
countless  cracks  and  clunks;  and  tiie  driving  snow  sifted  through  in  such 
quantities  that  they  were  sometimes  obliged,  the  morning  after  a  storm,  to  re- 
move it  with  sliovels.  Their  food  woukl  freeze  on  the  table  before  them, 
and  their  coarse  brown  bread  had  to  be  thawetl  on  the  hearth  before  they 
could  cut  it.  Tlicse  women  had  been  nurtured  in  ease,  if  not  in  luxury." 
This  picture  is  drawn  by  a  non-Catholic  pen. 

Nor  were  poverty,  cold,  and  har<lship,  the  only  enemies  with  which  Miss 
Mance  and  her  pioneer  nuns  had  to  battle.  There  were  other  perils.  The 
terrible  Iroquois  were  always  prowling  near,  and  even  those  gentle  ladies 
were  not  beyond  the  reach  of  the  tomahawk. 

During  summer,    a    month    rarely  passed  without  a  fight,  sometimes 


242  TRIALS  AND  TRlUIill'lIS  01-   THE 

within  sight  of  their  w  iiulows.  A  luiisl  of  yells  from  the  ambushed  marks- 
men, folldwed  h)-  a  clatter  of  mu>!.L;:y,  woulil  announce  the  opening  of  the 
fray,  and  promise  the  nuns  addition  to  their  list  of  patients.  On  these  occa- 
sions they  bore  themselves  according  to  their  several  natm-es.  Sister  IMorin, 
who  had  joined  their  number  three  years  after  their  arrival,  relates  that  .Sister 
Br^soles  and  she  used  to  run  to  the  belfry  and  ring  the  tocsin  to  call  the  in- 
habitants together. 

"  From  our  high  station,"  writes  Sister  Morin,  "  we  could  sometimes  see 
the  combat,  which  terrified  us  extremely,  so  that  we  came  down  again  as  soon 
as  we  could,  trembling  with  fright,  and  thinking  that  our  last  hour  was  come. 
When  the  tojsin  sounded,  my  Sister  Maillct  would  become  faint  with  ex- 
cess of  fear;  and  my  Sister  Mace,  as  long  as  the  alarm  continued,  would 
remain  speechless,  in  a  state  pitiable  to  see.  They  would  both  get  into  a  cor- 
ner of  the  rood-loft  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  so  as  to  be  prepared  for 
death;  or  else  go  into  their  cells. 

"As  soon  as  I  heard  that  tlic  Iroquois  were  gone,  I  went  to  tell  them, 
which  comforted  them  and  seemed  to  restore  them  to  life.  My  Sister  Brd- 
soles  was  stronger  and  more  courageous;  her  terror,  which  she  could  not  helj), 
did  not  prevent  her  from  attending  the  sick  and  receiving  the  dead  and 
wounded  who  were  brought  in." 

And  now,  what  more  have  we  to  say  of  our  heroine,  Miss  Mance?  She 
labored  to  the  end  at  the  work  so  dear  to  her  heart.  She  established  the 
Hotel  Dieu  of  Montreal  on  a  firm  basis.  Each  year  added  new  luster  lo  her 
bright  and  beautiful  life;  and,  finally,  the  Angel  of  Death  called  her  away  in 
June,  1673.  She  died  in  the  odor  of  sanctity.  There  is  no  more  to  tell. 
Hospital  sisters  have  no  stories.  Their  whole  lives  are  exquisite  praises  to 
the  gracious  God,  and  are  written  only  in  His  Book  of  Life  on  high. 


Cbaptcit  XIII. 


3ovs  and  Soppoips  of  Jlcadia. 


TREACHERY  of  a  Freebooter.  — A  Mission  of  Rapine  and  Death.  — Provi 
DENCE  Shiei,ds  Father  Biard.— Port  Royai,  in  Two  Visions  — Abnaki  and 
MiCMAC  Tribes.— The  English  Desecrate  Port  Royal— Deep  Desolation 
IN  THE  Land.  — Frequent  Change  of  Masters. —Bamishment  of  the  Col- 
onists.—Loyalty  in  Exilh  and  Dispersion 


r  the  risk  of  some  slight  repetition,  we  must  introduce  at  this  point 
tliL-  pathetic  history  of  the  missions  in  Acadia — also  known  as  La 
Cadia  and  Acadie — this  name  applying  as  well   to  the  present 


i 


^'S 


'*w'i  ^u3'    British  provinces  of  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia  as  to  that 


p/r-^-4,       p;"'t  of  the  state  of  Maine  of  which  we  have  heretofore  treated. 


On  a  clear  night  in  the  middle  of  November,  a.  d.  1613,  three 
English  ships,  under  the  command  of  the  bold  freebooter,  C.iptain  Samuel 
Argall,  of  V'irginia,  weathered  Brier  Island  in  the  bay  of  Fundy,  and,  sailing 
through  the  narrow  channel  now  called  Digby  Gut,  came  to  anchor  in  the 
basin  of  Port  Royal.  The  moon  was  nearly  at  full,  and  the  shores  of  the 
basin  could  be  distinctly  seen  on  all  sides,  at  a  distance  of  nmre  tiian  two 
leagues.  At  the  head  of  the  hay,  in  the  open  meadow  or  sea-marsh  fronting 
tiie  River  L'Eqiiille — so  named  by  Champlain  on  his  first  voyage  to  Acailia, 
nine  years  before  —  the  forts  and  dwellings  erected  by  Dc  Monts  and 
Poutrincourt,  in  1605,  could  be  plainly  seen  standing  out  bl.-ick  and  shadowy 
in  the  moonlight,  and  apparently  tenantless  and  deserted. 

243 


244  TRLILS  .IND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

No  signs  of  alarm  were  visible  in  the  settlement.  The  silence  of  night 
reigned  over  the  gre:il  marsh  meadows  on  either  side  of  the  river — broken 
only  by  the  faint  rumble  of  distant  waterfalls,  and  the  mournful  hooting  of 
the  great  horned  owl  on  the  edge  of  the  woods,  liicncourt,  the  French 
governor,  and  his  companions  in  the  little  colony,  slept  soundly  under  the 
shadow  of  the  fort,  unconscious  of  the  strange  sail  lying  in  the  bay;  or  were 
stretched  out  before  the  brushfires  in  the  woods,  dreaming,  perhaps,  of  the 
arrival  of  the  long-expected  store-ship  from  Dieppe. 

On  board  Argall's  stjuadron  was  a  motley  company,  such  as  the  circum- 
stances only  of  that  adventurous  age  could  have  made  shipmates  together; 
freebooter,  Jesuit,  piuitan,  cadets  of  impoverished  cavalier  families,  seeking 
to  mend  their  fortunes  in  the  New  World  ;  Abnakis  fur-traders,  licensed  by  the 
London  company  of  adventurers,  and  French  prisoners  from  St.  Sauveur; 
their  hopes  and  feelings  with  regard  to  the  object  of  the  expedition  as  diverse 
as  their  race  and  creed. 

To  understand  the  situation,  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back,  for  a  moment, 
to  the  events  that  had  occurred  in  the  spring  of  that  year.  On  the  12th  of 
March,  1613,  M.  de  Saussaye,  who  had  been  appointed  governor  of  Acadia, 
sailed  from  Honfleur  in  Normandy  to  found  a  new  settlement  in  the  territory. 
Two  Jesuit  fathers,  Gilbert  du  Thet  and  Father  Quentin,  accompanied  the 
expedition.  Two  years  before,  Father  Pierre  Biard,  a  Jesuit,  professor  of 
theology  at  the  University  of  Lyons,  and  Father  Enemond  Masse,  of  the 
same  order,  had  sailed  from  Dieppe  for  the  newly-founded  colony  at  Port 
Royal,  there  to  establish  the  first  Jesuit  mission  in  New  France. 

They  carried  with  them  the  prayers  of  the  whole  court.  The  young 
king,  Louis  XIIL  gave  them  five  hundred  crowns  ;  the  Marchioness  de 
Verneuil  presented  them  with  vestments  and  the  sacred  vessels  for  saying 
Mass;  Madame  de  Kourdis  furnished  them  with  linen;  and  Mad.imede  (Juer- 
cheville,  with  whatever  else  they  required  for  the  voyage.  No  news  had 
been  received  from  them  for  many  a  day;  and  it  was  believed  that  they  were 
dead.  Fathers  Quentin  and  Du  Thet  were  to  replace  them  if  they  had 
perished;  otherwise  to  return  to  France.  De  Saussaye  arrived  at  Port  Royal 
in  May  and  found  Biard  and  Masse  alive,  and  working  courageously;  in- 
structing the  Indians  and  cheering  their  companions  in  the  little  colony  with 
the  hope  of  succor  from  France.  They  had  suffered  greatly,  however, 
during  the  winter,  living  on  acorns  and  roots  and  the  fish  they  caught  in  the 
river;  but  their  faith  was  unshaken,  and  the  good  disposition  shown  by  the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  245 

Indians  gave  the  Jesuit  fathers  sincere  hopes  of  their  conversion  when  they 
had  mastered  their  language. 

De  Saussaye  took  Father  Biard  and  Father  Masse  on  board,  and,  saiHng 
along  the  coast  of  Maine,  chose  a  site  for  the  new  settlement  near  the  mouth 
of  the  rcnobscot.  While  the  colonists  were  raising  a  fort,  Father  Biard  with 
Lieutenant  La  Motte  le  Vilin  landed  on  the  coast,  and  advanced  into  the 
interior  of  the  country,  in  order  to  explore  it,  and  if  possible  open  friendly 
communications  with  the  natives.  When  they  at  last  descried  a  village,  their 
ears  were  saluted  by  fearful  yells  and  cries,  and  supposing  it  to  be  a  funeral 
ceremony,  they  hastened  on,  till  they  met  an  Indian,  who  told  them  that  a 
child  was  dyirtg.  In  hopes  of  arriving  in  time  to  baptize  it,  the  missionary 
ran  with  all  speed,  and  on  reaching  the  village,  found  all  ranged  in  a  double 
line,  with  the  father  of  the  child  at  the  end,  holding  the  little  sufferer  in  his 
arms.  At  every  sigh  it  uttered,  he  gave  a  fearful  yell,  which  taken  up  and 
repeated  on  either  side,  produced  the  noise  which  had  attracted  the  mis- 
sionary. Biard,  who  with  Masse  had  made  some  progress  in  the  Algonquin 
at  Port  Royal,  advanced  to  the  father,  and  asked  him  whether  he  was  willing 
to  have  his  child  baptized.  He  silently  laid  it  in  the  arms  of  the  missionary, 
who,  handing  it  to  La  Motte,  ran  for  water  and  baptized  it,  amid  the  silent 
wonder  of  the  Indians.  He  then  knelt  and  implored  the  Almighty  to  vouch- 
safe some  sign  of  his  power  in  order  to  confirm  his  ministry  in  the  eyes  of 
this  blind  but  docile  people.  His  prayer  was  not  refused.  The  child,  being 
now  handed  over  to  its  mother,  was  to  all  appearance  well,  and  applied  its 
lips  to  her  breast.  So  striking  a  wonder  disposed  all  to  receive  the  mission- 
aries as  nun  nf  superior  iiowcr;  and,  grateful  to  ("lod,  with  a  heart  elated  by 
hope.  Father  liiard  returned  to  St.  Sauveur's. 

Argall  was  on  the  coast  with  an  armed  vessel,  convoying  a  fleet  of 
Virginia  fishing-craft;  and  hearing  from  the  Indians  of  the  landing  of  the 
French  at  St.  Sauveur — as  they  had  named  the  luvv  colony — sailed  for  the 
Penobscot  and  attacked  De  Saussaye  by  surprise.  His  victory  was  complete; 
he  captured  the  French  ship,  pillaged  the  settlement,  and,  having  sent  De 
Saussaye  and  Father  Masse  with  fifteen  others  adrift  in  an  open  shallop, 
carried  off  the  remainder,  including  Fathers  Biard  and  Qucntin,  prisoners  to 
Virginia.  Father  Masse  and  his  companions  crossed  the  \':i\  of  Fuiidy  in 
their  open  boat,  and,  coasting  along  the  eastern  shore,  were  picked  up  off 
Sesumbre  (Sambro)  by  a  French  fishing-vessel  from  St.  Malo;  and  half  of 
their  number  having  been  put  on  board  another  ship  from  the  same  port, 


246  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

they  were  all  carried  back  to  France,  landing  at  St.  Mulo,  where  the}'  wei-e 
received  with  great  joy  by  the  magistrates  and  people. 

When  Argall  returned  to  Jamestown  with  his  prisoners,  bringing  the 
news  of  the  establishment  of  the  French  settlements  in  Acadia,  the  colony 
was  thrown  into  a  ferment  at  the  supposed  encroachment  upon  English  ter- 
ritory. It  was  a  time  of  profound  peace  between  the  French  and  English 
crowns;  but  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  the  governor  of  Virginia,  gave  Argall  a  com- 
mission  to  return  north,  and  destroy  all  the  French  settlements  he  might  find 
on  the  coast  as  f nr  as  Cape  Breton,  that  is,  as  far  as  forty-six  degrees  and  a 
half,  north,  the  limits  of  the  English  patents. 

The  French  crown  maintained  a  rival  claim  to  the  territory.  In  1603, 
Henry  IV  of  France  had  appointed  De  Monts  his  lieutenant-general  "  in  all 
the  countries,  coasts,  and  confines  of  La  Cadia  (Acadia),  to  begin  from  the 
fortieth  degree  to  the  forty-sixth;  and  in  the  same  distance  to  make  known 
and  establish  his  name  and  authority."  Acting  under  this  charter,  De  Monts 
had  founded  the  settlements  of  St.  Croix  and  Port  Royal  in  1604-5.  ^'^''  '' 
was  an  age  that  did  not  seek  to  inquire  too  closely  into  the  rights  of  prior 
discovery  or  occupation  where  the  claims  of  rival  comj)anies  clashed  togethe'' 
in  the  New  World.  By  the  end  of  October,  Argall  had  burned  down  the 
deserted  fortifications  of  St.  Sauveur,  and  destroyed  the  remains  of  De  Monts' 
settlement  at  St.  Croix.  lie  captured  an  Abnaki  chief  on  the  coast,  and, 
compelling  the  Indian  to  pilot  his  ships  to  Port  Royal,  was  now  lying  in  the 
bay,  waiting  for  the  first  streak  of  dawn  over  the  hills,  to  complete  the  de- 
struction of  the  last  French  settlement  in  Acadia.  Ilis  sailors  were  fiusiied 
with  the  hope  of  a  rich  booty  in  the  spoil  of  a  colony  on  which,  according  to 
Charlevoix,  a  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  crowns  had  been  already  ex- 
pended. The  work  promised  a  finer  harvest  of  prize-money  than  pillaging 
St.  Malo  fishermen  on  the  Grand  Banks;  and  the  fact  of  the  victims  being 
not  only  French,  but  Jesuits,  gave  a  keener  zest  to  the  enterprise. 

The  two  Jesuit  fathers,  Biard  and  Qucntm,  were  on  board  of  one  of  tiie 
smaller  vessels  of  the  squadron,  commanded  by  Lieut.  Turnel.  They 
had  narrowly  escaped  being  hanged  at  Jamestown  by  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  as 
alleged  pirates  and  trespassers  on  English  territory;  but,  finally,  Argall,  had 
been  directed  to  carry  them  north,  and  send  them  back  to  France  by  any 
French  fishing-vessel  he  happened  to  fall  in  with  on  the  coast. 

Father  Biard's  fortune  had  been  a  singular  one.  On  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost, two  years  before,  he  had  landed  at  Port  Royal,  full  of  hope  and  energy, 


CATHOLIC  CnURCn  IN  AMERICA  247 

believing,  as  he  touched  the  shores  of  the  New  World  for  the  first  time,  that 
rrovidencc  had  chosen  him — an  unworthy  servant  of  the  Lord — to  plant  the 
first  seeds  of  the  Faith  that  should  afterward  spread  over  the  whole  of  the 
continent.  He  was  now  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  his  bitterest  enemies;  the 
French  settlements  had  been  destroyed;  his  brethren  were  scattered  or  dead; 
and,  after  sufferings  and  disasters  that  would  have  l:>rokcn  the  spirit  of  any 
man  not  upiield  by  a  generous  and  living  faith — famine,  illness,  toilsome 
journeys,  the  sickness  and  hope  deferreil,  the  jealous  tyranny  of  the  French 
trailers  and  the  sword  of  English  pirates — he  found  himself  at  last  an  un- 
willing witness  from  the  deck  of  an  armed  enemy  of  the  expected  ruin  of 
his  mission. 

The  prospect  was  a  gloomy  one;  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  more 
distant  than  ever! 

Morning  broke  at  last,  and  the  Jesuits  were  awakened  by  the  hoarse 
cry  of  the  mate  of  Turnel's  ship  calling  the  watch  to  heave  anchor,  and  move 
the  ship  up  stream  to  attack  the  fort.  The  anchor  was  lifted  over  the  bows, 
and  the  drowsy  crew  shook  out  the  damp  sails  to  the  light  puffs  of  air  that 
rippled  the  surface  of  the  basin.  An  unexpected  ilelay  took  place;  the  great 
tide  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  was  sweeping  out  of  the  river  like  a  mill-course; 
and  it  was  not  until  ten  or  eleven  o'clock  that  the  ships  were  slowly  warped 
up  within  close  range  of  the  fort. 

Such  an  air  of  stillness  hung  about  the  settlement  that  Argall  feared  an 
ambuscade;  but  as  his  men  rushed  into  the  fort — with  swords  drawn  and 
arquebuses  leveled — a  joyful  surprise  awaited  them.  Not  a  French  settler 
was  to  be  seen;  the  fort  and  dwellings  were  deserted;  shoes  and  other  goods 
lying  about,  indicating  recent  occupancy.  Biencourt  and  his  companions 
were  in  the  woods  trading  with  the  Indians;  and  the  colony  fell  an  unresist- 
ing prey  to  the  English.  Argall  pillaged  the  settlement  of  every  movable 
article,  even  to  the  locks  on  the  doors,  killed  and  carried  off  the  live-stock, 
and  then  set  lire  to  the  buildings — "a  thing  truly  pitiable,"  says  Father 
Biard;  "for  in  a  few  hours  one  saw  reduced  to  ashes  the  labors  of  many 
years  and  many  persons  of  merit." 

The  English   then   destroyed   every   mark   of   I'rench  sovereignty  they 

could  liiul,  using  even  the  hammer  and  chisel  on  a  large  and  massive  stone,  on 

which  were  engraved  the  names  of  I'ouli  incourt  and  other  captains,  with  the 

Jlciirdc-lh.    The  ruin  of  the  first  Jesuit  mission  in  the  New  World,  north  of 

Florida,  was  complete. 


248  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

The  scene  was  now  an  impressive  one,  and  fruitful  of  reflection  to  any 
eyes  but  those  inflamed  by  sectarian  bigotry  and  the  lust  of  rapine. 

From  the  basin  of  Port  Royal,  where  the  English  ships  had  anchored,  to 
St.  Augustine  in  Florida,  the  continent  stretched  out,  west  and  south,  a  vast 
and  solitary  wilderness,  unbroken  by  any  European  settlement  except  the 
infant  colony  at  Jamestown,  planted  five  years  before;  the  wash  of  the  western 
ocean  beat  in  sullen  surges  on  the  naked  beach  around  Plymouth  Rock,  as 
yet  untrodden  by  the  feet  of  the  fathers  of  New  England.  In  the  northwest, 
Champlain,  soldier,  navigator,  missionary,  the  greatest  hero,  perhaps,  in  that 
age  of  wonderful  adventure  and  heroic  men,  was  bearing  the  cross  and 
civilization  up  the  St.  Lawrence  and  along  the  shores  of  the  great  lakes; 
while  to  the  north  the  fir  forests,  ever  growing  more  gloomy,  stunted,  and 
monotonous,  extended  to  the  confines  of  Hudson's  Bay,  unrelieved  by  any 
trace  of  civilized  life  except  the  little  French  chapel  at  Tadoussac. 

Argall  took  his  prisoners  with  him,  and  being  informed  by  some  of  the 
French  at  that  post  that  Father  Biard  was  a  Spaniard,  resolved  to  have  him 
executed  under  the  English  penal  laws;  but  on  his  return  his  vessels  were 
scattered  by  a  storm;  that  bearing  the  missionaries  was  driven  to  the  Azores, 
and  there,  in  a  Catholic  port,  without  a  commission,  the  captain  found  himself 
at  the  mercy  of  Father  Biard,  who,  far  from  seeking  to  avenge  his  wrongs, 
made  no  appeal  to  the  Portuguese  authorities.  The  vessel  finally  reached 
England,  whence  Biard  returned  to  France. 

The  basin  of  Port  Royal  was  distinguished  by  a  picturesque  and  diversi- 
fied beauty — ill  suited  to  the  scene  of  piracy  that  was  being  enacted  on  its 
shores — and  which  had  attracted  the  admiration  of  all  the  early  adventurers 
to  these  coasts.     Lescarbot,  describing  his  arrival  seven  years  before,  says: 

"Finally,  being  in  the  port,  it  was  a  thing  marvelous  to  see  the  fair 
distance  and  the  largeness  of  it,  and  I  wondered  how  so  fair  a  place  did  remain 
desert,  being  all  filled  with  woods,  seeing  that  so  many  pine  away  in  the  world 
which  might  make  good  of  this  land,  if  only  they  had  a  chief  governor  to  lead 
them  thither.  At  the  very  beginning  we  were  desirous  to  see  the  country  up 
the  river,  where  we  found  meadows  almost  continually  above  twelve  leagues 
of  ground,  among  which  do  run  brooks  without  number,  which  come  from 
the  hills  and  mountains  adjoining.  Yea,  even  in  the  passage  to  come  forth 
from  the  said  fort  for  to  go  to  sea,  there  is  a  brook  that  falleth  from  the  high 
rocks  down,  and  in  falling  disperseth  itself  into  a  small  rain,  which  is  very 
delightful  in  summer." 


CATHOLIC  CHl'RCU  IN  AMERICA  249 

"  It  was  our  harvest  time,"  says  Father  BiartI,  in  words  penetrated  with 
a  regret  the  tone  of  which  seems  to  reach  us  even  at  this  distant  day  —  "  our 
season  of  fruit.  We  had  composed  our  catechism  in  the  savage  tongue,  and 
commenced  to  be  able  to  speak  to  our  catechumens,  and  behold!  at  this 
moment  comes  the  enemy  of  all  good  to  put  the  torch  to  our  labors  and  carry 
us  out  of  the  field.  May  the  victorious  Jesus,  of  his  powerful  hand  and 
invincible  wisdom,  set  his  plans  at  naught!  Amen." 

So  the  Jesuit  missionary  closes  each  chapter  of  his  curious  narrative. 
The  words  of  a  recent  Protestant  writer,  describing  the  same  scene,  are  some 
what  different :  "In  a  semi-piratical  descent,"  says  Parkman,  "an  obscure 
stroke  of  lawless  violence  began  the  strife  of  England  and  France,  of  Pro- 
testantism and  Rome,  which  for  a  century  and  a  half  shook  the  struggling 
communities  of  the  New  World,  and  closed  at  last  in  the  inemorable  triumph 
on  the  plains  of  Abr.iham." 

The  strife  has  not  closed;  the  prayer  of  the  persecuted  missionary  has 
been  heard.  In  tiie  busy  cities  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  along  the  spurs  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  among  the  great  lakes  and  unexplored  rivers  of 
Manitoba  and  the  northwest,  the  successors  of  Father  Biard  are  laboring  in 
their  glorious  mission  to-day ;  filled  with  the  same  ardent  zcil  that  stirred  the 
hearts  of  the  pioneers  of  his  order,  toiling  through  the  depths  of  the  wilder- 
ness on  the  stormy  days  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century.  And 
in  the  ancient  town  of  Port  Royal  the  little  Catholic  church  of  a  new  mission 
— where  the  people  of  another  race  no  less  zealous  in  the  Faith  mingle  in 
prayer  with  the  descendants  of  the  followers  of  Biencourt  and  Latour — may 
still  be  seen  by  the  tourist,  pointing  its  rustic  wooden  steeple  to  the  sky,  over 
the  shores  of  that  beautiful  basin  on  wliich  the  Jesuit  Biard  looked  with 
regretful  eyes  for  the  last  time  on  the  39II1  day  of  November,  1613. 

For  a  period  of  fifty  years  after  the  date  of  Argall's  expedition,  the 
materials  for  any  notes  on  the  missions  of  .\cadia  are  scanty  and  fragmentary. 
Biencourt  and  a  scattered  remnant  of  the  first  French  colonists  still  clung 
to  the  ruins  of  Port  Royal,  living,  however,  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
year  with  the  Indians,  fishing  and  fur-trading.  St.  Malo,  Dieppe,  IlonHeur, 
anil  Roclielle  sent  out  yearly,  in  the  spring,  their  fleets  of  fishermen  to  reap 
the  rich  harvest  of  these  seas;  but  the  jealousy  of  the  New  England  colonics 
was  always  on  the  alert  against  any  encroachment  uijun  their  claims  to  the 
territory;  no  durable  settlement  appears  to  have  been  maile  for  nearly  twenty 
years;  and  there  was  no  priest  resident  on  these  coasts.     Parceled  out  by  the 


250  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

sovereigns  of  Spain,  England,  and  France  into  huge  monopolies,  the  limits  of 
whose  patents  were  only  bounded  by  the  arbitrary  division  of  degrees  of 
latitude  north  and  south,  North  America,  at  that  day,  with  an  extent  of  ter- 
ritory large  enough  to  settle  uncounted  millions  at  peace  with  each  other 
was  the  disputed  prize,  with  varying  fortune,  of  a  handful  of  merchants  and 
adventurers,  who  planted  a  few  sparse  colonies  on  the  thin  edge  of  the 
Atlantic  seaboard.  The  Jesuits  had  transferred  their  missions  to  the  country 
of  the  Hurons  on  the  Great  Lakes;  and  the  words  of  Fathers  Biard  and  Masse 
were  become  only  a  tradition  among  the  Micmacs  and  Ahnakis  of  Acadia. 
"  Niscaminoil  hignemouy  nincm  marcodam" — "  Our  Sun,  or  our  God,  gives 
us  something  to  eat,"  was  the  only  prayer  that  ever  rose  from  the  lips  of 
these  wandering  savages,  scattered  in  shifting  tribes  at  the  mouths  of  the 
rivers  that  emptied  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  or  living  in  isolated  families  under 
the  shadow  of  the  granite  hills  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  peninsula,  where 
the  rolling  surf  of  the  wintry  ocean  dashed  forever  in  furious  white  breakers 
on  the  iron-bound  coast. 

The  superstitions  of  these  Indians  were  of  a  character  singular  and 
grotesque.  They  believed  in  certain  spirits,  whom  they  called  Cudoilagni, 
and  with  whom  they  often  conversed  in  a  familiar  tone,  telling  them  the  kind 
of  weather  they  wanted.  If  the  spirit  was  angry  with  them,  he  threw  dust 
in  their  eyes.  Sagard,  the  Franciscan  historian,  writing  of  the  Sourignois  in 
1636,  relates  this  tradition,  told  by  one  of  their  sagamores  to  the  Sieur  Lescot: 

"  Once  upon  a  time,"  said  the  chief,  "  there  \vas  a  man  who  had  a  great  deal  of 
tobacco;  and  God  spoke  to  the  man,  and  asked  Iiim  where  was  his  pipe.  The  man  took 
it  and  gave  it  to  God,  who  smoked  a  great  deal;  and  after  he  had  smoked  enough,  he 
broke  it  into  a  great  many  pieces.  The  man  asked  him,  '  Why  have  you  broken  my 
pipe?  Don't  you  see  that  I  have  no  other?'  And  God  took  one  that  he  had,  and  gave  it 
to  him,  saying,  'Here  is  one  that  I  will  give  you;  take  it  to  your  great  sagamore,  and 
let  him  take  care  of  it;  and  if  he  takes  good  care  of  it,  neither  he  nor  all  his  people 
shall  ever  want  for  anything  whatever.'  The  man  took  the  pipe  and  gave  it  to  his  great 
sagamore,  and  while  he  kept  it  the  Indians  never  wanted  for  anything  in  the  world 
One  day,  however,  the  sagamore  happened  to  break  the  pipe,  and  since  that  (ime  they 
had  famine  often  among  them.  That  was  the  reason,  he  said,  that  they  didn't  think  a 
great  deal  of  God,  because  he  made  all  their  abundance  depend  on  a  little  clay  pipe,  and 
when  he  might  often  help  them,  he  let  them  suffer  more  than  all  the  other  tribes." 

The  Recollects,  a  reformed  branch  of  that  great  Franciscan  order  whose 
missionaries  had  already  penetrated  into  every  quarter  of  the  world,  east  and 
west,  where  European  adventure  had  gained  even  the  most  precarious  foot- 
hold, were  destined,  under  Providence,  to  be  the  first  apostles  and  missionaries 
of  those  Indians. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


251 


It  was  an  age  of  great  religious  enthusiasm;  the  attention  of  the  great 
missionary  orders  of  Europe  was  strongly  directed  to  the  wide  field  of  labor 
opened  to  their  zeal  by  the  settlement  of  North  America;  and  although  the 
violence  of  English  aggression  had  compelled  the  Jesuits  to  abandon  for  a 
time  the  missions  of  Acadia,  other  laborers  were  soon  foimd  to  enter  the  field. 

In  1619,  certain  associations  of  French  merchants,  formed  to  carry  on  the 
shore  fishery  and  fur-trade  in  Acadia,  applied  to  the  Recollect  friars  for  priests 
to  attend  to  the  religious  wants  of  the  men  whom  they  employed  in  those 
coasts;  holding  out,  as  a  more  Inilliaiit  iiuhicenicnt,  the  conversion  of  the 
Indians  of  the  country.  The  proposal  was  gladly  accepted.  The  conversion 
of  the  savages  from  the  ilarkness  of  heathenism  was  the  most  glorious  work 
of  that  age;  and  the  means  that  the  Recollects  themselves  were  too  poor  to 
supply  were  placed  in  their  hands.  It  seemed  almost  a  direct  interposition  of 
Providence  to  grant  them  the  earnest  of  their  prayers! 

Three  of  the  fathers,  belonging  to  the  province  of  Aquitaine,  embarked 
with  joyful  hearts  for  a  mission  so  fruitful  of  difliculties  and  peril,  but  which 
promised  so  rich  harvest  for  their  labors.  They  fixed  their  chief  residence  on 
tlie  river  St.  John,  where  the  company  had  established  a  trading-post;  mak- 
ing frequent  journeys  from  that  mission  to  supply  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
struggling  colony  at  Port  Royal,  as  well  as  of  the  Indians  on  the  Bay  of 
Fundy  and  the  southern  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  They  are  also 
said  to  have  commenced  some  Indian  missions  on  the  Isthmus  of  Bay  Verte. 

These  Recollects  were  also  driven  out  of  the  country  at  the  second  cap- 
ture of  Port  Royal  and  the  other  French  settlements,  by  Kirk,  in  162S,  shar- 
ing the  fate  of  the  Jesuits  at  Argall's  hands  in  1613,  while  the  same  thing 
occurred  once  again  in  1624. 

But  the  zeal  of  the  missionaries  was  unconquerable;  the  brethren  of  a 
third  order  left  tliuir  peaceful  monastery  in  France  to  take  up  their  residence 
on  those  inhospitable  shores.  In  1644  the  Capuchins  hati  established  a  hos- 
pice at  Penobscot,  under  the  powerful  protection  of  the  Sieur  D'Aulnay,  lieu- 
tenant-general of  the  territory.  There  they  labored  in  peace  for  several 
years,  performing  the  functions  of  cur^s  for  the  settlement.  DWulnay  after- 
wards transferred  his  chief  residence  to  Port  Royal,  and  built  there  a  new 
hospice  for  the  Capuchin  fathers,  who  followed  the  fortunes  of  their  Dock, 

Nor  was  the  indefatigable  ardor  of  the  Jesuits  easily  repulseil.  Father 
Enemond  Masse  had  twice  returned  to  New  France — his  Rachel,  as  he  called 
the  country  for  whiLJi  ho  had  suffered  so  much— but  his  missions  now  lay  in 


252  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  country  of  the  Algonquins  and  Montaignais.  Otner  brethren  of  the  order 
had,  however,  established  themselves  at  St.  Anne's,  in  Cape  Breton,  and  at 
Miscou,  on  the  gulf,  about  1640;  and  from  these  missions  the  fathers  extended 
their  labors  along  the  northern  coast  of  New  Brunswick  and  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  peninsula  of  Nova  Scotia.  A  solitary  Jesuit,  Gabriel  Druillettes, 
set  out  on  the  29th  of  August,  1647,  from  the  residence  of  Sillery,  near  Que- 
bec, to  found  the  mission  of  the  Assumption  among  the  Abnakis  of  Maine. 
"I  shall  say  nothing,"  writes  Father  Lalcmant,  the  superior  of  the  Jesuits  in 
New  France,  in  his  yearly  "Relation"  addressed  to  the  provincial  of  his  order 
at  Paris,  describing  Father  Druillettes'  mission  in  1647 — - 

"  I  sh.ill  say  nothing  of  llie  diflkulties  he  had  to  undergo  in  a  journey  of  nine  or 
ten  months,  where  one  meets  rivers  paved  with  rocks,  where  the  boats  that  carry  you 
are  made  only  of  bark;  where  the  dangers  to  one's  life  succeed  each  other  more  quickly 
than  the  days  and  nights;  where  the  frosts  of  winter  change  the  whole  face  of  the 
country  into  a  sheet  of  snow  and  ice;  where  one  has  to  carry  on  iiis  shoulders  his 
dwelling,  his  provisions,  and  his  supplies;  where  you  have  no  other  company  than  that 
of  savages,  as  far  removed  from  our  ways  of  living  as  the  earth  is  removed  from  the 
skies;  where  the  strength  of  body  with  which  these  savages  are  abundantly  supplied 
far  excels  all  the  beauties  of  the  spirit ;  where  one  finds  neither  bread  nor  wine,  nor 
any  kind  of  food  that  one  is  used  to  in  Europe;  where  one  would  say  that  all  the  roads 
led  to  the  abyss,  so  frightful  are  they;  and  yet  they  lead  to  Paradise  those  who  love  the 
crosses  with  which  they  are  strewn:  it  was  in  his  sufferings  that  the  father  found  re- 
pose, meeting  more  often  mountains  like  those  of  Tabor  and  Olivet  than  that  of 
Calvary." 

Father  Druillettes  descended  the  river  Kennebec  to  the  sea ;  and  his  In- 
dian guide,  after  reaching  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  conducted  the  father  to  Penob- 
scot, where  he  was  hospitably  entertained  at  the  little  hospice  of  the  Capu- 
chins who  were  still  resident  there.  Father  Ignatius  de  Paris,  their  superior, 
gave  the  Jesuit  father  a  warm  welcome;  and  Father  Druillettes,  having  rested 
and  recruited  himself,again  ascended  the  river  into  the  interior  of  the  country, 
where  he  commenced  his  first  mission  among  the  Abnakis,  which  God  after- 
wards blessed  with  a  wonderful  increase. 

Such  was  the  position  of  the  missions  in  Acadia  toward  the  end  of  the 
first  half  of  the  seventeenth  ccntiny  :  The  Capuchins  were  at  Port  Royal ; 
a  few  scattered  missionaries,  Jesuits  and  Recollects  along  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  peninsula,  the  Revollects  on  the  St.  John  river,  and  Father  Druillettes 
commencing  his  missions  in  Maine. 

The  treaty  of  St.  Germain-au-Laye  had  restored  Acadia  to  the  French 
crown  in  1632;  but  New  England  had  always  secretly  resented  that  agree- 
ment and  never  relinquished  its  intention  of  regaining  possession  of  the  terri- 
tory.    The  lax  interpretation    of  international  obligations  that  distinguished 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  25^ 

the  protectorate  of  Cromwell,  gave  the  English  colonists  the  opportunity 
they  desired.  In  1653  Cromwell  fitted  out  an  expedition  designed  to  attack 
the  Dutch  colony  of  Manhadoes  (New  York).  The  English  ships  did  notj 
however,  arrive  at  Boston  until  June,  1654.  On  the  ninth  of  the  month,  the 
general  court  passed  resolutions  for  enlisting  five  hundred  men,  to  be  com- 
manded by  Major  Robert  Sedgwick  of  Charlestown,  "a  man  of  popular 
manners  and  military  talents,"  who  had  once  been  a  member  of  the  artillery 
company  of  London;  this  force  was  to  aid  the  English  squadron  in  the  ex- 
pedition against  the  Dutch.  Ten  days  later,  the  news  reached  Boston  that  a 
treaty  of  peace  had  been  signed  between  the  Protector  and  the  Dutch  Re- 
public. Here  was  an  opportunity  not  to  be  neglected !  The  English  and 
French  governments  were  at  peace;  but  the  general  court  counted  upon  the 
acquiescence  of  Cromwell — not  without  some  previous  informal  assurances  to 
that  effect — and  it  was  determined  to  employ  the  force  that  had  been  raised 
by  the  colony,  and  the  English  ships  then  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Boston,  in 
tiie  reduction  of  the  French  settlements  of  Acadia. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  August,  1654,  the  Capuchin  fathers,  look- 
ing from  the  windows  of  their  hospice  up  the  river,  saw  the  English  squadron 
sailing  up  the  basin  of  Port  Royal  for  the  third  time  in  forty  years.  All  was 
hurrv  and  confusion  in  the  settlement.  The  fort  was  well  garrisoned  and 
provisioned,  and  with  a  capable  commander  might  have  made  a  stout  resist- 
ance; but  Le  Borgne,  who  had  obtained  possession  of  Port  Royal  under  a 
suit  against  the  estate  of  the  late  Sieur  D'Aulnay,  was  a  man  without  military 
knowledge  or  experience;  and,  after  a  faint  show  of  resistance,  he  capitulated 
noxt  day  to  the  English  on  favorable  terms.  The  other  settlements  submit- 
ted without  resistance.  Thus  for  the  third  time  Acadia  was  lost  to  Catho- 
licity and  New  France,  and  handed  over  to  the  sway  of  Puritanism  and 
New  England. 

Liberty  of  conscience  had  been  guaranteed  in  the  capitulation ;  but  the 
provincial  act  of  1647  against  the  Jesuit  order,  who  were  to  be  banished  if 
found  in  the  country,  and  on  return  from  banishment  to  suffer  death,  was  re- 
vived and  extended  to  priests  of  other  orders;  the  Capuchins  were  compelled 
to  abandon  their  hospice  and  return  to  France;  the  missions  were  broken  up; 
and  for  the  next  twelve  years  the  English  held  undisputed  possession  of 
Acadia.  Sir  Thomas  Temple,  the  English  governor,  was,  however,  a  man 
of  humane  and  generous  temper  and  tolerant  disposition;  and  the  French 
Acadians  who  remained  in  the  country  were  allowed   to  follow,  quietly,  the 


254  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  01-  THE 

worship  of  their  fatiicrs.  The  only  priest  of  whom  any  mention  is  made  as 
resident  in  the  country  at  this  time  was  Father  Laurent  Molin,  who  performed 
the  functions  of  cur^  at  Port  Royal. 

Plans  for  English  colonization  of  the  territory  now  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  the  home  government.  Sir  Thomas  Temple  urged  the  advantage  of 
settlement,  pointing  out  in  his  letters  to  the  Lords  of  the  Council  the  great 
value  of  the  fisheries,  mines,  and  timber  of  the  country. 

"  Nova  Scotia,"  he  says,  "  is  tlie  first  colony  which  England  has  possessed  in  all 
America  of  which  the  limits  have  been  fixed,  being  bounded  on  the  north  hy  the  great 
rivers  of  Canada,  and  on  the  west  by  New  England.  It  contains  the  two  great  provinces 
of  .\lexandria  and  Caledonia,  established  and  confirmed  by  divers  acts  of  the  parliament 
of  Scotland,  and  annexed  to  that  crown,  the  records  whereof  are  kept  in  the  Castle  of 
Edinburgh  to  this  day." 

But  the  plans  for  English  settlement  were  frustrated  by  the  treaty  of 
Breda,  1667,  which  again  restored  Acadia  to  the  French  crown,  notwithstand- 
ing the  remonstrances  of  New  England.  On  the  6th  day  of  July,  1670,  the 
Chevalier  Grand  Fontaine  delivered  to  Sir  Thomas  Temple,  at  Boston,  the 
order  of  Charles  II,  directing  him  to  deliver  up  possession  of  Acadia  and  at 
the  same  time  exhibited  to  him  his  commission  from  the  French  king  empow- 
ering Grand  Fontaine  to  receive  the  cession  of  the  territory.  The  formal  sur- 
render of  the  forts  and  settlements  was  made  before  the  end  of  the  year,  and 
the  country  was  opened  once  more  to  the  labors  of  the  missionaries. 

We  have  seen  the  Jesuits,  Recollects,  and  Capuchins  successively  enter- 
ing upon  the  missions  of  Acadia;  the  field  was  large,  their  difficulties  extreme; 
the  violence  of  English  aggression  always  imminent,  and  ceaselessly  over- 
turning the  foundations  laid  with  much  labor  and  zeal.  A  new  organization 
of  the  forces  of  the  Church  was  now  about  to  send  its  missionaries  into  the 
field.  The  Seminary  of  Foreign  Missions  of  Quebec,  founded  in  1663  by  the 
illustrious  Mgr.  Laval,  the  first  bishop  consecrated  for  New  France,  was  al- 
ready training  up  a  body  of  native  ecclesiastics,  who  joined  to  the  ardent  zeal 
of  the  first  missionaries  a  knowledge  of  the  country  more  intimate  and  pro- 
found. In  16S7  the  priests  of  the  seminary  entered  upon  the  missions  of 
Acadia  with  »n  energy  redoubled  by  the  knowledge  of  the  difficulties  that  had 
beset  the  labors  of  their  predecessors.  After  the  restoration  of  the  territory 
to  France  by  the  treaty  of  Breda,  it  was  included  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Bishop  of  Quebec;  and  in  the  instructions  given  by  Louis  XIV  to  De 
Menual,  appointed  governor  in  16S7,  the  king  declares  the  conversion  of  the 
Indians  to  the  Christian  faith  to  be  his  chief  object,  and  refers  him  for  assist- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  255 

HJice  in  procuring  missionaries  for  the  country  to  Mgr.  St.  Valier,  who  had 
succeeded  Mgr.  Laval.  The  diocese  of  Quebec  could  hardly,  at  that  time, 
supply  priests  sufficient  for  the  wants  of  its  own  missions;  but  the  necessity 
was  great,  the  harvest  of  souls  promised  to  be  abundant;  and  Mgr.  St.  Valier, 
casting  his  eyes  around  for  laborers  worthy  of  the  field,  found  willing  volun- 
teers in  the  priests  of  the  Seminary  of  Foreign  Missions.  M.  Petit  was  ap- 
pointed grand  vicar  and  cur6  at  Port  Royal;  M.  Trouv(5  took  charge  of  the 
missions  up  the  river  and  at  Minas;  and  Father  Thury  commenced  his  heroic 
labors  among  the  Abnakis  and  Canibats,  which  were  destined  with  the  aid  of 
the  Jesuits  to  achieve  a  brilliant  success  in  the  entire  conversion  of  these  tribes. 
The  two  Jesuit  fathers,  James  and  Vincent  Bigot,  brothers  belonging  to  one 
of  the  noble  families  of  France,  and  Father  G.issot,  of  the  same  order,  joined 
with  ardor  in  the  work  of  converting  and  restoring  the  faith  among  the  In- 
dians; and  the  Recollect  Father  Simon  governed  a  devoted  mission  at  Medok- 
tek,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  John.  The  teachings  of  the  missionaries, 
and  the  examples  of  unselfish  devotion  that  their  lives  continually  presented, 
inspired  the  Indians  with  a  lasting  attachment  to  France  and  French  interests 
and  institutions,  which  made  them  the  most  effective  allies  of  that  power  in 
the  ilisastrous  warfare  that  never  ceased  on  the  borders.  The  Indian  policy 
of  New  England,  on  the  contrary — if,  indeed,  it  could  be  called  a  policy  the 
only  object  of  which  was  to  plunder  and  destroy — cost  the  English  colonists  a 
deplorable  loss  of  blood  and  treasure,  that  a  more  humane  and  generous  treat- 
ment of  these  savages  might  easily  have  averted.  With  the  single  exception 
of  the  missionary  Eliot,  no  effort  was  ever  sought  to  be  made  by  the  English 
to  Christianize  the  Indians  within  their  borders;  the  traders  plundered  them, 
and  the  war  parties  shot  them  down  like  wild  beasts  whenever  they  surprised 
an  Indian  village;  and  it  can  hardly  excite  surprise  that  the  Indian  reprisals 
proved  as  merciless  and  relentless  as  the  melancholy  history  of  those  times 
proves  them  to  have  been. 

Acadia  was  the  border-ground  on  which  New  England  and  New  France 
contended  for  the  possession  of  North  America.  Sometimes  the  wave  of 
English  conquest  swept  up  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  the  walls  of  the 
citadel  of  Quebec;  then  the  returning  tide  would  carry  the  French  soldiers 
and  their  Indian  allies  hearing  fire  and  sword  through  the  settlements  of 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Northern  New  York — almost  within  sound  of 
the  alarm  bells  of  Boston.  The  contest  appears  to  us  now  to  have  been  a 
very  unequal  one,  and  in  the  light  of  later  events  we  are  able  to  see  that  the 


256  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

final  preponderance  of  New  England  was  inevitable;  but  to  the  English 
colonist  of  the  seventeenth  century,  harassed  by  the  constant  dread  of  vigilant, 
ceaseless,  and  relentless  Indian  warfare  upon  the  scattered  settlements;  en- 
circled by  a  chain  of  fortified  posts  from  Quebec  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi;  and  threatened  by  powerful  French  fleets  upon  the  coast,  the 
struggle  appeared  to  be  one  for  the  security  of  his  very  foothold  upon  the 
continent.  The  conquest  of  Acadia  had  always  been  regarded  by  the 
commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  as  essential  to  the  continuance  of  a  durable 
peace;  but  the  importance  of  the  possession  of  the  territory  seems  to  have 
been  better  recognized  by  the  French  than  the  English  government  of  that 
day;  and  the  various  treaties  between  tiie  two  powers  always  included  a 
clause  providing  for  its  restoration  to  the  French  crown. 

For  twenty  years  after  the  treaty  of  Breda  the  French  settlements  in 
Acadia  had  enjoyed  comparative  peace.  The  missions  were  prosperous, 
although  the  want  of  priests  was  severely  felt  in  the  outlying  districts.  One 
of  the  periodical  invasions  of  the  English  had  taken  place  in  16S0;  Port 
Royal  had  been  again  captured ;  but  the  occupation  had  been  only  of  short 
duration,  and  the  Acadians  were  once  more  left  in  peace  to  dike  in  the  great 
marsh  meadows  from  the  sea,  and  sing  their  Norman  and  Breton  songs  under 
the  willows  along  the  banks  of  the    Dauphin  and  Gaspereaux. 

But  a  storm-cloud  was  now  gathering  in  the  English  colonies  that 
threatened  to  sweep  the  French  power  from  the  continent.  On  the  ist  of  May, 
1690,  New  York  witnessed  the  spectacle,  hitherto  unknown  in  American 
annals,  of  a  national  congress.  The  idea  had  been  inspired  by  the  common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts  ;  the  general  court  having  sent  letters  to  all  the 
other  colonies  as  far  as  Maryland,  urging  the  necessity  of  united  action 
against  the  French.  The  congress  of  New  York  decided  upon  the  conquest 
of  Canada  by  means  of  an  army  that  should  march  upon  Montreal  by  way 
of  Lake  Champlain,  while  Boston  was  to  send  a  fleet  to  attack  the  settle- 
ments in  Acadia,  and  then  lay  siege  to  Quebec.  The  first  expedition  was 
directed  against  Port  Royal.  On  the  20th  of  May,  Sir  William  Phipps,  with  a 
squadron  of  one  frigate  of  40  guns, two  sloops-of-war  of  16  and  S  guns,  and  four 
smaller  vessels,  anchored  within  half  a  league  of  the  fort.  His  land  force  con- 
sisted of  700  men.  The  French  governor,  De  Menneval,was  totally  unprepared 
for  resistance;  he  had  under  him  only  an  insignificant  garrison  of  eighty-six 
men;  the  fortifications  were  not  completed,  and  the  battery  of  eighteen  guns 
not  even   mounted.     The   English  commander  sent  a  trumpeter  to  demand 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  orn 

the  unconditional  surrender  of  tlic  fort.  De  Menncval  retained  the  trumpeter; 
and  sent  Father  Petit,  who  acted  as  liis  ahiioner,  to  obtain  reasonable  terms 
of  capitulation.  After  some  difHculty,  Sir  William  Phipps  agreed:  i.  That 
the  governor  and  soldiers  should  go  out  with  arms  and  baggage,  and  be 
transported  to  Quebec;  2.  That  the  inhabitants  shouM  remain  in  peaceable 
possession  of  their  property,  and  that  the  honor  of  the  females  should  be 
protected;  3.  That  they  should  have  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  and 
that  the  church  should  not  be  injured.  With  these  terms  Father  Petit 
returned  to  the  fort,  and  the  capitulation  was  agreed  upon. 

The  English  forces  landed,  and  as  soon  as  Phipps  had  received  the  sur- 
render of  the  fort,  he  disarmed  the  French  garrison,  and  the  settlement  was 
given  up  to  indiscriminate  pillage  and  the  license  of  his  troops.  The  church 
was  plundered  of  the  sacred  vessels;  the  priest's  house  burned  down;  the 
houses  of  the  inhabitants  sacked;  and  De  Menncval  and  Father  Petit  and 
Father  Trouvd  taken  prisoners  and  carried  on  board  the  English  ships.  Such 
was  the  faith  observed  by  the  English  commander  af  the  surrender  of  Port 
Royal!  Sir  William  Phipps,  having  left  a  small  garrison  in  the  fort,  carried 
back  with  him  to  Boston  the  French  governor,  the  priests,  and  his  plundei-; 
and  was  received  with  great  rejoicings  in  the  colony. 

The  misfortunes  of  the  inhabitants  of  Port  Royal  were  not  yet  complete. 
Scarcely  bad  the  New  England  squadron  left  the  coast  than  two  English 
])irate-ships,  with  ninety  men  on  board,  which  had  pillaged  the  island  of 
Mariegalante,  in  the  West  Indies,  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  apjicared  off  the 
river.  The  pirates  landed;  burned  down  the  church  and  twenty-eight  houses, 
killed  the  cattle,  hanged  two  of  the  inhabitants,  and  burned  a  woman  and  her 
children  in  her  own  house.  The  successors  of  Argall  were  even  more  merci- 
less than  himself. 

The  government  of  Massachusetts,  after  Phipps'  capture  of  Port  Royal, 
considered  Acadia  as  a  dependency  of  that  province  by  right  of  conquest; 
and  in  the  charter  of  William  and  Mary  to  Massachusetts,  brought  out  to 
Boston  in  1 693  by  Sir  William  Phipps,  "  the  territory  called  Accada  or  Nova 
Scotia"  is  united  to  and  incorporated  in  the  province  of  "  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  New  England." 

But  despite  the  wishes  of  the  colonists,  and  the  costly  expenditure  of 
blood  and  treasure  which  the  several  expeditions  had  occasioned  New  Eng- 
land, the  territory  was  again  restored  to  France  by  the  treaty  of  Ryswick  in 
1697.     For  ten   years  after  the  sack  of  Port   Royal  in    1690,  an  incessant 


2^o  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

border  warfare  was  kept  up  between  New  England  and  New  France;  but 
the  settlements  on  the  peninsula  (Nova  Scotia)  were  left  comparatively 
undisfurbed,  and  the  natural  fertility  of  the  alluvial  lands,  the  extensive 
fisheries,  and  the  value  of  the  timber  trade,  combined  to  maintain  them  in 
moderate  prosperity.  Resident  cur^s  were  stationed  at  the  principal  settle- 
ments, and  the  activity  of  the  Indian  missionaries  in  Maine  was  incessant, 
instructing  their  neophytes  and  checking  the  inroads  of  the  English.  In 
1695,  the  celebrated  Father  Rale  had  established  his  mission  at  Norridgewock, 
where  he  labored  with  indefatigable  energy,  until  his  death  finally  satisfied 
the  hatred  of  his  enemies.  Fathers  Thury,  Des  Chambault,  Simon,  and 
Baudoin  devoted  themselves  with  marvelous  energy  to  the  task  of  strength- 
ening the  faith  among  these  Indian  tribes;  and  the  unquestioning  devotion  that 
rewarded  their  labors  compensated  them  for  all  the  sufferings  of  their  ardu- 
ous lives.  From  a  memoir  dated  5th  of  February,  1691,  it  appears  that,  at 
that  date,  there  were  nine  missionaries  in  the  country,  five  secular  priests,  and 
four  friars  penitent,  who  received  a  yearly  stipend  from  the  French  king, 
the  priests  300  livres  a  year,  and  the  friars  200  livres.  Father  lUiury  estab- 
lished a  mission  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  peninsula,  but  afterward  returned 
to  his  mission  at  Panawanisk^,  on  the  Penobscot,  where  he  died  in  1699.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Fathers  Gaulin  and  Rageot,  of  the  Seminary  of  Foreign 
Missions.     These  fathers  transferred  their  missions  to  the  Jesuits  in  1703. 

A  glance  at  the  missions  of  Acadia  during  the  last  half  of  the  centurv 
which  was  now  drawing  to  a  close  will  show  three  great  orders  of  religious 
confraternities  striving  in  emulous  rivalry  within  the  territory  "  for  the  con- 
quest of  souls  and  the  salvation  of  the  Indians."  The  blood  of  Father  Gilbert 
du  Thet  had  not  been  spilled  on  barren  ground.  His  words  still  echoed  in 
the  hearts  of  his  brethren  in  New  France;  the  Recollects  occupied  the  whole 
territory  within  the  old  limits  of  De  la  Tour's  lieutenant-generalship,  their 
missions  extending  from  Cape  Sable  to  the  river  St.  John,  with  resident  cur^s 
at  the  Acadian  settlements  near  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy ;  the  priests  of 
the  Seminary  of  Foreign  Missions  of  Quebec,  vying  with  their  brethren  of 
the  older  religious  houses  of  Europe  in  the  fervor  of  their  charitj',  were  on 
the  Penobscot  and  along  the  coast  of  Maine  to  the  St.  John's  River;  and  a 
little  later,  as  we  have  seen,  had  established  Fathers  Petit  and  Trouve  at  Port 
Royal;  while  the  black-coated  army  of  the  Jesuits,  those  invincible  soldiers 
of  the  cross,  were  regaining  the  ground  lost  in  1613,  and  had  entrenched 
themselves  at   St.  Anne's  in   Cape  Breton,   at  Miscou  on  the  gulf,  and  at 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


259 


Norridgewock  in  Maine,  tlicir  missions  forming  a  triangle  on  the  confines  of 
the  territory,  objective  points  from  which  they  penetrated  into  the  lieart  of 
the  country. 

Few  memorials  remain  to  testify  to  the  heroic  ardor  and  generous  charity 
which  impelled  these  undaunted  missionaries  to  devote  themselves,  without 
question  and  without  complaint,  to  the  salvation  of  souls  otherwise  cast  adrift 
without  spiritual  consolation,  on  the  bleak  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  first  struggling  efforts  for  the  settlement  of  this 
continent.  Even  their  names  hardly  survive;  but  it  is  still  the  glory  of  the 
Church  to  cherish  the  distant  memory  of  these  heroic  men,  who  where  the 
pioneers  in  the  wilderness,  making  straight  the  ways  of  the  Lord. 

The  world  grows  more  grasping  and  selfish,  more  exacting  in  its  demands 
for  material  development,  less  curious  in  things  of  the  spirit,  with  the  increas- 
ing rationalism  of  the  age.  There  is  no  want  of  generous  sentiment  among 
the  men  and  women  of  to-day ;  but  its  manifestation  is  stifled  and  deadened 
by  the  narrowness  and  hardness  of  modern  life.  The  tendency  of  modern 
civilization  is  leveling  and  repressive;  the  struggle  of  daily  life  is  more 
monotonous  and  confined  within  narrower  limits;  the  age  has  lost  in  individ- 
ualism, but  its  egotism  is  even  more  intense.  The  greed  for  money,  luxury, 
and  comfort  grows  with  the  iucrcascil  facilities  for  securing  these  necessary 
conditions  of  modern  life,  and  blunts  the  more  generous  emotions  of  the  soul. 
Self-abnegation  is  unknown.  It  is  a  prosaic  age — an  age  of  eminent  shop- 
keepers— that  sneers  at  miracles,  apostles,  and  missionaries;  these  belong  to  the 
past;  the  sciolism  of  the  nineteenth  century  consigns  those  marvels  of  faith  to 
the  rude  ages  of  which  they  form  a  part,  they  have  no  place  in  the  active 
business  of  modern  life.  The  world  runs  more  evenly,  but  we  fail  in  some 
way  to  reach  the  highest  level  of  an  earlier  age.  How  far  we  have  gained 
or  lost,  who  shall  pretend  to  judge?  But  it  re-assures  us  at  least  to  know  that 
the  Catholic  Church  still  keeps  alive  within  her  sanctuary  the  memory  and 
example  of  men  who  followed  with  clearer  vision  the  immortal  desires  of  the 
soul,  and  leavened  with  their  holy  charity  the  sordid  selfishness  of  the  world. 

With  liie  end  of  the  century,  French  rule  in  Acadia  drew  rapidly  to  a 
close.  The  English  attacks  upon  settlements  grew  more  incessant  and  deter- 
mined. In  1796,  Colonel  Benjamin  Church,  the  famous  partisan  commander 
in  King  Philip's  War,  ravaged  the  settlements  at  the  head  of  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  burning  down  the  church  at  Beaubassin  and  driving  the  inhabitants 
into  the  woods.     Eight  years  later,  Church  again  left   Boston,  on  what  he 


^^  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

rcrms  his  fifth  aiui  hist  expedition  cast,  and  destroyed  and  wasted  all  the  set- 
tlements that  fell  into  his  power,  cutting  the  dikes  so  as  to  overflow  the 
meadows,  and  in  that  way  ruining  the  patient  lahors  of  nearly  a  century. 
The  slormy  government  of  the  Gascon,  De  Hrouillant,  came  to  a  close  in 
October,  1705;  he  died  at  sea,  on  his  return  from  France  to  Port  Royal,  near 
the  entrance  of  Chibouctou  Bay  (Halifax),  on  board  the  king's  ship  Profond; 
his  body  was  buried  in  the  sea,  but  his  heart  was  taken  out,  and  interred  near 
the  cross  on  the  cape  at  Port  Royal. 

M.  de  Subercase,  the  last  French  governor  of  the  territory,  arrived  at 
Port  Royal  in  1706.  The  missions  were  desolate,  the  churches  burned  by  the 
English,  and  the  sacred  vessels  carried  off  as  plunder  to  Boston.  .Under  the 
government  of  Subercase,  a  last  effort  was  made  to  retain  the  territory  under 
the  authorit)'  of  the  French  crown.  The  fortifications  of  Port  Royal  were 
strengthened;  a  larger  garrison  was  sent  out  from  France,  and  the  French 
ships-of-war  and  the  privateers  harassed  the  trade  of  New  England.  The 
New  England  militia  twice  laid  siege  to  Port  Royal  in  1707,  but  were  re- 
pulsed on  each  occasion  with  considerable  loss.  Father  Patrice  was  ap- 
pointed superior  of  the  mission  in  this  year,  and  a  priest  was  stationed  at 
Chibouctou,  where  the  fishery  was  extensively  carried  on. 

The  publication  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  at  Paris,  on  the  22d  of  May, 
1713,  was  fhe  first  virtual  acknowledgement  of  the  failure  of  French  coloni- 
zation in  North  America.  The  treaty  was  decisive  in  its  results.  Hitherto 
French  diplomacy  had  been  able  to  win  back,  at  the  end  of  each  successive 
war,  the  advantages  gained  in  Nc>rth  America  by  the  military  prowess  of  the 
New  England  colonists  and  the  naval  supremacy  of  England;  but  Louis 
XIV  was  growing  old,  the  military  genius  of  Marlborough  had  destroyed 
the  flower  of  the  French  armies,  and  the  Court  of  Versailles  was  willing  to 
purchase  peace  at  home  from  the  English,  even  at  the  price  of  sacrificing  the 
dream  of  French  empire  in  the  New  World.  The  tenth  article  of  the  treaty 
gave  up  all  Hudson's  Bay  to  the  English;  the  twelfth,  "likewise  that  all 
Nova  Scotia  or  Acadie  comprehended  within  its  antient  boundaries,  also  the 
city  of  Port  Royal,  now  called  Annapolis  Royal,  and  all  other  things  in  these 
parts  which  depend  on  the  said  lands  and  islands,  are  yielded  and  made  over 
to  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  her  crown  forever;"  and  the  thirteenth 
article  declared  that  Newfoundland  should  belong  wholly  to  Great  Britain. 

Thus,  at  the  close  of  a  century  from  Argall's  expedition,  the  title  to  the 
sovereignty  of  Acadia  was  finally  determined,  in  a  manner  more  regular  and 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  26 1 

formal,  although  the  consequences  to  the  French  colonists  were  far  more  dis- 
tressing and  irreparable  in  the  end  than  any  devastation  caused  by  the  English 
freebooter  when  he  ravaged  the  coasts  in  16 13.  By  the  treaty  France 
loosened  her  hold  upon  the  northern  half  of  the  continent,  and  abandoned  her 
title  to  the  whole  line  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  except  Cape  Breton  and  the 
islands  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence;  and  although  the  fortifications  of  Louis- 
Inng  stayed  for  a  time  the  tide  of  English  conquest,  and  even  enabled  the 
French  governors  at  Quebec  to  prosecute  with  temporary  success  their  de- 
signs on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  yet  her  real  loss  was  never  regained  in  the 
New  World,  and  the  final  triumph  of  New  England,  although  delayed,  was 
eventually  assured. 

By  the  cession  of  the  territory,  the  Acadians  found  themselves  in  this 
unhappy  position — they  were  called  upon  to  serve  two  masters,  both  exact- 
ing, each  inexorable  in  the  demand  for  a  single  and  unqualified  allegiance. 
The  French  crown,  it  is  true,  had  formally  relinquished  its  right  of  sover- 
eignty over  the  inhabitants  of  Acadia,  but  its  secret  aspirations  were  well 
known,  and  the  inseparable  ties  of  race,  of  their  ancient  allegiance,  of  religion, 
manners,  and  language,  were  too  closely  and  firmly  knit  to  yield  to  any  for- 
mal renunciation  made  without  their  consent;  while  on  the  other  hand,  the 
strong  arm  of  military  power,  the  unconcealed  threats  of  removal  from  the 
rich  diked  meadows  that  they  had  cultivated  for  a  century,  their  tenacious  love 
of  country,  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  future,  impelled  them  to  submit  with 
tacit  acquiescence,  at  least,  to  the  authority  of  the  English  governors  at 
Annapolis. 

By  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  of  Port  Royal,  confirmed  and  enlarged 
by  the  letter  of  Queen  Anne,  of  June  22,  1713,  the  Acadians  were  permitted 
either  to  sell  their  lands  and  remove  out  of  the  province,  or  to  remain  unmo- 
lested on  condition  of  acknowledging  themselves  English  subjects.  The 
French  authorities,  who  were  then  engaged  in  settling  and  fortifying  Cape 
Breton,  were  desirous  of  strengthening  and  consolidating  the  new  colony,  and 
strong  representations  were  made  to  induce  the  Acadians  to  remove  with 
their  effects  to  the  island;  the  frowning  ramparts  which  the  French  engineers 
were  beginning  to  raise  above  the  harlior  of  Louisburg  seeming  to  promise  a 
last  and  impregnable  defense  against  English  encroachment.  In  July,  1713, 
Governor  de  Costabelle  sent  a  messenger  with  letters  to  Father  Gaulin,  F.M., 
whose  missionary  labors  were  confined  to  the  Indians,  and  to  Father  Felix, 
Recollect,  cur^  of   Mines,  urging  them  to  use   their  influence  to  induce  the 


^62  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Acadians  and  Indians  to  remove  from  the  jirovince  and  join  the  colony  at 
Louisburg.  One  cannot  fail  to  observe  in  Ibis,  as  well  as  in  every  other 
movement  in  tlie  history  both  of  English  and  French-American  colonization 
of  tliat  day,  the  carelessness  of  both  governments  respecting  colonial  interests, 
so  far  as  they  affected  only  the  colonists  themselves,  the  ignorance  and  indif- 
ference always  shown  by  the  home  authorities  with  regard  to  the  natural  ties 
formed  by  liirth  and  labor  in  a  new  country,  and  tiie  entire  subjection  of  all 
other  considerations  to  the  furtherance  of  imperial  views  alone. 

The  few  scattered  missionaries,  however,  who  still  remained  in  the  pro- 
vince, and  who,  in  the  absence  of  the  regular  civil  authority  to  which  they 
still  felt  themselves  bound,  were  recognized  by  the  Acadians  as  their  natural 
leaders  and  most  sincere  friends,  did  not  look  very  favorably  upon  a  project 
which  demanded  such  heavy  and  distressing  sacrifices  from  their  people,  and 
preferred  rather  to  rely  upon  the  hope  (then  probable  enough)  of  the  eventual 
restoration  of  the  country  to  the  French  crown,  and  upon  the  promises  of 
toleration  and  ci\il  liberty  held  out  by  the  English  governors.  Father  Felix 
Palm,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Monsieur  de  Costabelle,  states  the  objections 
made  by  the  Acadians  to  the  scheme  proposed  by  the  French  government: 

"Aux  Mines,  September  23,  1713. 

"A  summary  of  what  the  inhabitants  have  answered  me; 

"It  would  be  to  expose  us  manifestly  (they  say)  to  die  of  hunger,  burthened  as  we 
are  with  large  families,  to  quit  the  dwelling-places  and  clearances  from  which  we  derive 
our  usual  subsistence,  without  any  other  resource,  to  take  rough,  new  lands,  from 
which  the  standing  wood  must  be  removed  without  any  advances  or  assistance.  One- 
fourth  of  our  population  consists  of  aged  persons,  unfit  for  the  labor  of  breaking  up 
new  lands,  and  who,  with  great  exertion,  are  able  only  to  cultivate  the  cleared  ground 
which  supplies  subsistence  for  them  and  their  families.  Finally,  we  shall  answer  for 
ourselves  and  for  the  absent  that  we  will  never  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  queen 
of  Great  Britain,  to  the  prejudice  of  what  we  owe  to  our  king,  to  our  country,  and  to 
our  religion;  and  that  if  any  attempt  were  made  against  the  one  or  the  other  of  these 
two  articles  of  our  fidelity — that  is  to  say,  to  our  king  and  to  our  law,  that  in  that  case 
we  are  ready  to  quit  all  rather  than  to  violate  in  the  least  thing  one  of  those  articles. 
Besides,  we  do  not  yet  know  in  what  manner  the  English  will  use  us.  If  they  burthen 
us  in  respect  of  our  religion,  or  eat  up  our  settlements  to  divide  the  lands  with  people 
of  their  nations,  we  will  abandon  them  absolutely.  We  know,  further,  from  the  exact 
visits  we  have  made,  that  there  are  no  lands  in  the  whole  island  of  Cape  Breton  which 
would  be  suitable  for  the  maintenance  of  our  families,  since  there  are  not  meadows 
sufficient  to  nourish  our  cattle,  from  which  we  draw  our  principal  subsistence.  The 
Indians  say  that  to  shut  them  up  in  the  island  of  Cape  Breton  would  be  to  damage 
their  liberty,  and  that  it  would  be  a  thing  inconsistent  with  their  natural  freedom  and 
the  means  of  providing  for  their  subsistence.  That  with  regard  to  their  attachment  to 
the  king  and  to  the  French,  that  it  is  inviolable;  and  if  the  queen  of  England  had  the 
meadows  of  Acadie  by  the  cession  made  by  his  majesty  of  them,  they,  the  Indians,  had 
the  woods,  out  of  which  no  one  could  ever  dislodge  them;  and  that  so  they  wished 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  263 

each  to  remain  at  their  posts,  promisiug,  nevertheless,  to  be  always  faithful  to  the 
French.  In  the  colonies  of  Port  Royal,  Mines,  Piggiguit,  Coppeguit  and  Beaubassiu, 
six  thousand  (6,000)  souls  would  have  to  lie  removed." 

The  French  plan  for  the  removal  of  the  Acadians  to  Cape  Breton  fell  to 
the  ground  after  a  time,  and  was  succeeded  b}'  a  policy  of  reprisals  more  dis- 
astrous and  harassing  to  the  Aca<lians  than  to  the  English  garrison  at  Annap- 
olis; while  at  the  same  time  the  English  lords  of  trade  and  the  colonial 
governors  were  slowly  maturing  a  scheme  for  the  forcible  and  wholesale 
removal  of  the  French  inhabitants  from  the  province.  Nor  is  it  the  only  case 
in  history  where  the  satraps  of  llritish  power  have  plotted  the  banishment  of 
a  people  to  seize  on  its  rightful  domain. 

In  the  course  of  this  contest  the  old  country  of  Acadia  was  crushed  to 
the  ground;  the  French  settlers  were  carried  off,  their  farms  and  villages 
burned,  the  missionaries  imprisoned  or  driven  out.  Manach,  of  the  foreign 
missions,  the  missionary  of  the  Micmacs,  was  sent  to  France,  Le  Loutre  was 
a  prisoner  in  Jersey,  and  in  17G0  there  remained  on  the  St.  John's  only 
Coquart,  who  soon  after  withdrew  to  France;  and  of  the  Jesuits,  one  certainly, 
and  perhaps  two,  for  as  their  popularity  was  waning  in  France,  their  missions 
in  Canada  declined. 

The  history  of  the  expatriation  of  a  peaceful  and  industrious  people,  the 
narration  of  the  successive  events  during  forty  years  leading  up  to  the  final 
catastrophe,  the  movement  to  and  fro  of  the  temporizing  policy  of  the  con- 
querors until  they  felt  their  power  secure  within  their  hands,  the  alternate 
hopefulness  and  anxiety  of  the  conquered,  the  expectation  of  aid  from  their 
kinsmen  abroad,  sometimes  drawing  near,  always  eventually  dashed  to  the 
ground;  the  desolation  of  the  settlements  by  friend  and  foe,  the  burning  of 
their  churches,  the  driving  out  of  their  pastors,  to  whom  they  were  devotedly 
attached  as  their  most  reliable  and  unselfish  friends,  and  their  final  dispersion 
over  the  continent  and  among  the  islands  of  the  West  Indies — make  a  soml)re- 
ccriored  picture  which  aftracts  the  imagination  of  the  observer,  and  fixes 
his  attention  even  at  this  distant  day.  The  beautiful  pictures  of  contented 
industry,  of  rural  peace  and  simplicity,  drawn  by  Longfellow  ami  the 
Abbe  Raynal,  find  little  counterpart  in  the  reality  of  the  stern  and 
rigorous  rule  of  the  English  military  governors  at  Annapolis,  Fort 
Edward,  and  Fort  Lawrence,  or  in  the  harassing  persecution  and  sus- 
picious tyranny  to  which  the  Acadians  were  ceaselessly  subjected  until 
the  fall  of  the  last  French  stronghold  on  the  peninsula,  by  the  capture  of 


264  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Fort  ncausc-jour,  left  the  English  government  free  to  carry  out  its  long  con- 
templated plan  of  wholesale  deportation.  One  feature  is  more  clearly 
marked  than  any  other  in  the  history  of  the  Acadians — that  is,  the  single- 
hearted  devotion  with  which  the  missionaries  devoted  themselves  to  the 
amelioration  of  the  political  conditions  of  their  people,  as  well  as  to  the  admin- 
istration of  the  divine  consolations  of  religion,  which  helped  to  sustain  them 
under  their  hurdens.  That  their  faithfulness  to  their  duty  brought  down 
u|)()n  Iheii-  heails  (he  anger  and  suspicion  of  the  English  governors,  need 
not  be  said. 

The  policy  of  conciliation,  indeed,  was  a  policy  not  much  practised  nor 
vcrv  much  esteemed  in  those  days,  nor  were  the  inherent  rights  of  distinct 
po])ulations  very  clearly  recognized  ;  the  English  held  the  country  by  the 
strong  hand,  and  both  priests  and  people  fell  its  weight  without  distinction. 
Scarcelv  thiee  months  had  elapsed  after  the  capitulation  of  Annapolis,  when 
Father  Justinien,  the  cur(5  of  the  settlement,  was  imprisoned  under  the  frivo- 
lous pretext  of  having  left  the  hanlieue,  and  gone  up  the  ri\er  without  the 
order  of  the  governor.  Colonel  Vetch ;  and  in  February,  1711,  he  was  sent  to 
Boston,  where  he  remained  a  prisoner  for  nearly  two  years.  The  conilition, 
in  the  meantime,  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Annapolis  River  was  wretched, 
and  their  minds  were  harassed  with  doubts  as  to  the  future;  in  the  same  year 
they  sent  M.  de  Clignancourt  to  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  the  governor  of 
Quebec,  with  a  letter,  in  which  they  say : 

"  M.  de  Clign.incourt  will  give  you,  sir,  a  faithful  report  of  all  that  has  passed 
since  the  departure  of  the  English  fleet.  He  will  make  you  acquainted  with  the  bot- 
tom of  our  hearts,  and  will  tell  vou  better  than  we  can  do  by  a  letter  the  harsh  man- 
ner in  which  Mr.  Weische"  (Vetch)  "treats  us,  keeping  us  like  negroes,  and  wisliing  to 
persuade  us  that  we  are  under  great  obligations  to  him  for  not  treating  us  much  worse, 
being  able,  he  says,  to  do  so  with  justice,  and  <iithout  our  having  room  to  complain. 
We  pray  you,  sir,  to  have  regard  to  our  misery,  and  to  honor  us  with  your  letter  for 
our  consolation,  expecting  that  you  may  furnish  the  necessary  assistance  for  our  re- 
tiring from  this  unhappy  country." 

Father  Justinien  was  permitted  to  return  in  1714-15,  and  continued  to 
exercise  the  functions  of  curd  at  Annapolis  until  1720.  On  the  zSth  of  April 
of  that  year  Governor  Philipps  issued  proclamations  to  the  people  of  Annap- 
olis, Mines,  and  Chignecto,  commanding  them  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
without  qualification,  or  to  withdraw  from  the  country  within  four  months, 
without  carrving  away  any  of  their  effects  except  two  sheep  for  each  family; 
the  rest  of  their  property  to  be  confiscated  to  the  crown.  At  the  same  date, 
letters  were   addressed   to   Father  Justinien   at    Annapolis,    Father   Felix  at 


SHRIEN  OF  ST.  ANXE  pli  HliAUTRE. 


3 
X 


a 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  265 

Mines,  anil  Father  Vincent,  at  Ciiignecto,  ordering  them  to  summon  their 
people  togetlier  and  make  kiu)\\"n  the  governor's  proclamation.  The  terms 
prescribed  by  the  prochimation  were  in  violation  of  the  promises  made  in  the 
letter  of  Queen  Anne,  which  guaranteed  to  the  Acadians  tlie  right  "  to  retain 
and  enjoy  their  said  lands  and  tenements  without  molestation  (on  condition  of 
being  willing  to  continue  oiw  subjects),  as  fully  and  freely  as  other  our  sub- 
jects do  or  may  possess  their  lands  or  estates,  or  to  sell  the  same,  if  they  shall 
rather  choose  to  remove  elsewhere." 

Finiling  this  alternative  before  them,  the  inhabitants  sent  a  letter  b\' 
Father  Justinien  to  M.  St.  Ovide,  governor  at  Louisburg,  appealing  to  him 
for  advice  and  assistance.  Some  correspondence  took  place  between  St.  Ovide 
and  Philipps,  and  the  English  governor,  finding  the  forces  at  his  command 
insufficient  to  carry  out  his  proclamation,  allowed  the  matter  to  rest  for  a  time: 
"sending  home  the  deputies,"  as  he  says,  "with  smooth  words  and  promises  of 
enlargement  of  time." 

The  departure  of  Father  Justinien  was,  however,  looked  upon  unfavor- 
ably by  the  governor,  and  he  was  forbidden  to  return  to  the  province. 
Philipps  afterward  granted  the  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Annapolis  to 
send  to  Cape  Breton  for  a  priest  in  place  of  Father  Justinien.  Father  Char- 
lemagne was  appointed  cure  and  continued  to  officiate  until  1724,  when  he  in 
turn  fell  under  the  suspicion  of  the  governor  and  council,  and  was  sent  out  of 
the  province. 

In  February  of  the  same  jear.  Father  Isidore,  a  Franciscan  friar,  came  to 
Annapolis.  He  had  been  selected  by  Father  Claude'  Sanquiest,  superior  of 
the  Recollects,  at  Louisburg,  to  be  resident  priest  at  Piggiguit  (Windsor). 
Maj.  Cosb}',  who  commanded  ytCanso,  wrote  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Doucett, 
at  Annapolis,  that  his  excellency  the  governor  had  authorized  Sanquiest  to 
appoint  a  curd  for  Piggiguit.  Father  Isidore  received  the  approbation  of 
the  council,  and  entered  on  his  mission  at  Piggiguite.  An  event  soon  occurred, 
however,  in  which  the  missionaries  were  charged  with  complicity" — the 
suspicious  temper  of  the  governor  and  council  being  prone  to  lay  all  their  dif- 
ficulties at  the  door  of  the  "Romish  priests" — and  which  resulted  in  the  ban- 
ishment of  Father  Felix  and  leather  Charlemagne  from  the  province,  and  the 
transfer  of  Father  Isidore  to  the  cur<5  of  Mines. 

Tiie  Indians  continued  this  year  to  make  war  on  the  frontier  New  England 
settlements,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  smnmer  a  war  party  of  Micmacs  and 
Malecitcs  attacked  the  fort  al   Annapolis,  killed  two  and  wounded  four  of  a 


266  TRIALS  AXD    TRIUMPHS   OF    THE 

pnrty  of  tlie  garrison,  wlio  made  a  sally  ami  caniecl  off  several  prisoners. 
Father  Char]cma<jne  and  Father  Isidore  were  brought  before  the  council,  and 
examined  with  rcgai<l  to  their  previous  knowlodije  of  the  designs  of  the 
Indians.  The  council  resolved  that  Father  Charlemagne  should  be  kept  in  cus- 
tody until  an  opportunity  offered  of  sending  him  out  of  the  province,  and  he  was 
forbi<ldcn  to  return  on  his  peril.  The  evidence  against  Father  Charlemagne 
was  of  the  inost  slender  eharactcr,  and  no  jury  could  be  found  now  to  con- 
\  ict  him  of  complicity  in  the  attack  ;  the  council  being  obliged,  in  fact,  to  base 
its  judgment  on  the  supposition  that  he  could  have  given  the  garrison  notice 
of  the  proposed  attack,  and  that  he  failed  to  do  so.  When  it  is  known  that 
he  had  no  means  of  communicating  with  the  garrison,  except  by  the  river, 
and  that  both  banks  were  guarde<l  by  hostile  Indians,  determined  to  intercept 
any  communication,  it  is  not  difficult  to  sec  that  the  verdict  of  the  council  was 
formed  rather  from  their  desire  to  find  some  one  whom  they  could  punish  for 
the  late  attack  (as  the  Indians  had  escaped  them),  and  upon  the  natural  odium 
which  they  entertained  against  Romish  priests,  than  upon  the  evidence  in  the 
case.  The  answers  of  Father  Charlemagne  himself  were  frank  and  straisht- 
forward,  and  offer  a  curious  commentary  upon  the  statement  made  in  the  report 
of  the  council  that  "he  often  prevaricated,  and  never  answering  directly  to 
any  question." 

The  governor  laid  before  the  board  a  letter  from  Pdre  Felix,  who  refused 
to  appear  before  the  council,  as  he  was  about  to  leave  the  province.  It  was 
resolved  "that  an  order  be  sent  to  Mines,  to  be  there  published  at  the  mass- 
house,  to  discharge  the  said  Father  Felix  from  ever,  at  his  utmost  peril,  enter- 
ing this  province  without  the  consent  and  approbation  of  the  government." 
Father  Isidore  was  acquitted  of  any  complicity  in  the  attack  upon  the  garri- 
son ;  and,  after  having  received  the  thanks  of  the  governor  in  council,  was 
appointed  to  the  curd  of  Mines  in  place  of  Father  Felix.  The  English  then 
shot  and  scalped  an  Indian  hostage  who  had  been  detained  two  years  in  the 
fort.  He  was  put  to  death  on  the  spot  where  Sergeant  McNcal,  one  of  the 
garrison,  had  been  killed.  The  council  also  passed  a  standing  order  "  that 
there  should  be  no  more  Mass  said  up  the  river  ;  that  the  Mass-house  there 
should  be  demolished,  and  that  one  should  be  built  at  Annapolis,  to  which 
they  might  all  resort,  as  an  eternal  monument  of  their  said  treachery." 

It  might  perhaps  be  supposed  that  this  furious  bigotry  wreaked  upon  inno- 
cent heads  ended  there  — the  Indians  who  attacked  the  fort  belonged  mostly 
to  a  tribe  called  the  Malecites,  living  on  the  St.  John  River,  on  the  other  side 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  2S7 

of  the  Bay  of  Fund}',  who  were  strangers  to  the  missionaries  at  Port  Royal 
and  Alines,  and  over  whom  they  had  no  control  ;  and  it  was  not  pretended 
nor  asserted  that  a  single  Acadian  had  taken  part  in  the  raid  —  but  it  did  not. 
Eight  years  afterwards,  when  another  governor.  Colonel  Armstrong,  \vm\ 
succeeded  Philipps,  the  peojile  up  the  river  petitionetl  to  have  their  church 
removed  to  the  miildle  of  the  settlement,  or  else  that  the  priest  miglit  spend 
half  liis  time  up  the  river.  This  was  refused  on  the  ground  that  the  cliurcii 
had  been  removed  to  Annapolis  on  account  of  "a  massacre  contrived  by  the 
friests^  Charlemain  and  Felix  of  Mines,  and  several  of  the  people,  to  be  per- 
petrated by  the  Indians;"  and  they  were  told  by  Armstrong:  "There  are 
none  of  you  but  know  how  barbarously  some  of  his  majesty's  subjects  were 
murdered  and  wounded  by  these  infatuated,  unthinking  people."  The  coun- 
cil were  of  opinion  that  their  church  should  not  be  removed,  but  that  it  should 
"remain  where  it  now  is  as  a  lasting  monument  and  memorial  of  their  treach- 
erous villainy  to  his  Brittanick  majesty  and  his  subjects." 

In  October  of  the  same  year  the  lieutenant-governor  informed  the  coun- 
cil that  he  had  received  a  letter  from  Father  Felix,  informing  him  of  his 
(Felix's)  return  to  the  province,  and  that  he  had  taken  up  his  residence  at 
Chignecto  on  the  assurance  of  a  letter  from  the  governor  of  Cape  Breton  in 
his  favor.  Father  Felix  was  accompanied  by  two  other  Recollects,  mission- 
aries, who  also  addressed  letters  to  the  lieutenant-governor,  asking  permission 
to  officiate.  The  council,  however,  was  inexorable,  and  ordered  Father  Felix 
and  his  companions  not  to  remain  in  the  province  at  their  peril;  but  as  its  au- 
thority did  not  extend  practically  beyond  cannon-shot  of  the  fort  at  Annap- 
olis, there  was  no  means  of  enforcing  the  order,  and  Father  Felix  continued 
to  officiate  for  several  years.  In  January,  1725,  Father  Ignace,  a  Flemish 
priest,  who  had  been  sent  by  Father  Jocunde,  the  superior  of  the  Recollects 
in  Cape  Breton,  with  a  recommendation  to  the  people  of  Mines,  arrived  at 
Annapolis  with  the  deputies  from  tliat  settlement,  and  requested  the  permis- 
sion of  the  government  to  officiate.  The  governor  and  council  having  de- 
manded and  received  from  him  assurances  that  he  would  confine  himself 
solely  to  his  religious  labors,  and  that  he  would  take  no  part  in  the  political 
affairs  of  the  province,  appointed  him  to  Chignecto,  "in  the  hope,"  as  they  said, 
"  of  rooting  out  Felix."  AX  a  meeting  of  council  on  the  22d  of  January, 
Father  Pierre,  who  had  gone  to  Cobequid  without  leave,  was  ordered  to  be 
"banished  the  country,"  and  the  council  threatened  the  people  of  that 
settlement    with    severe    penalties    for    referring    a  question   of   building   a 


268  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

church  to  the  bishop  of  Quebec.  Fnther  Charlemagne,  wlio  h^d  been 
imprisoned  since  July  previous,  was  sent  to  Cape  Breton  in  the  spring  of 
this  year  (1725.) 

In  1736  the  venerable  Indian  missionary.  Father  Gaulin,  finding  himself 
greatly  harassed  by  the  hostility  of  the  provincial  government,  surrendered 
himself  prisoner  at  Annapolis,  and  petitioned  the  governor  and  council  for 
leave  to  remain  as  a  missionary  in  the  province.  He  was  treated  with  great 
harshness  and  insolence  by  the  governor  and  council;  but,  as  it  was  deemed 
prudent  at  the  time  to  conciliate  the  French  inhabitants  and  the  Indians,  the 
decision  of  the  council  was  that,  «  notwithstanding  he  was  such  a  vile  fellow, 
it  would  still  be  better  at  this  juncture  to  continue  him,  than  either  to  keep 
him  in  prison  or  banish  him  from  the  province."  Father  Gaulin  was  accord- 
ingly called  before  the  council,  and  after  being  reprimanded  for  his  "intoler- 
able insolence,"  "  that  old  fellow  Gaulin  " — as  the  governor,  Armstrong,  calls 
the  venerable  priest  who  had  been  laboring  for  twenty  years  in  the  wilder- 
ness among  the  Indians  without  other  recompense  than  the  consciousness  of 
duty  faithfully  performed — was  set  at  liberty  and  allowed  to  enter  again 
upon  his  mission  without  further  molestation. 

The  governor,  Armstrong,  was  a  man  of  violent  and  suspicious  temper 
who  was  always  embroiled  in  disputes  with  his  subordinate  officers,  but  the 
brunt  of  his  displeasure  invariably  fell  upon  the  missionaries.  In  1729  Father 
Breslay,cur6  of  Annapolis,  was  banished  from  the  province,  and  it  was  not 
until  1732  that  Armstrong  granted  the  petition  of  the  inhabitants,  and  wrote 
to  M.  St.  Ovide  at  Louisburgto  send  him  two  priests,  one  for  Annapolis  and 
the  other  for  Mines.  He  had  previously  ordered  Father  Godalie,  cur^  of 
Mines,  and  grand  vicar,  to  leave  the  province.  Father  Godalie  was  accused 
of  having  "  basely  contradicted  himself  " — "  of  presuming  to  build  churches 
without  the  privity  or  authority  of  his  majesty's  government"  —  "of  pervert- 
ing one  of  his  majesty's  subjects  to  the  popish  religion,"  "  and  for  styling  him- 
self the  bishop  of  Quebec's  vicar."  For  these  offenses  the  council  ordered 
him  to  depart  out  of  the  province,  directed  the  inhabitants  not  to  pay  him  anv 
more  tithes. 

In  1736,  Father  St.  Poucy  and  Father  De  Chevcreaux,  another  of  the 
missionaries  from  Louisburg,  were  ordered  to  be  sent  out  of  the  province,  for 
refusing  to  obey  the  governor's  order  to  go  to  Poubomcoup  (Pubnico)  to 
recover  some  property  from  the  Indians — the  missionaries  declaring  that  they 
had  no  business  with  things  temporal,  and  refusing  to  have  anything  to  do 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  26c) 

with  the  affair.  Father  De  Chevercaux  stopped  at  Cape  .Sable,  where  he 
commenced  a  mission  among  the  Indians;  and  Father  St.  Poucy,  after  having 
sent  to  Louisbuig,  returned  again  to  Annapolis.  The  go\ernnient  immedi- 
ately ordered  him  to  depart  on  the  first  opportunity,  but  the  inhabitants  peti- 
tioning strongly  in  his  favor,  he  was  allowed  to  resume  his  functions  as  cur6. 
He  continued  to  ofHciate  until  1740,  when  he  applied  for  a  passport,  signify- 
ing his  intention  to  leave  the  imx)\  ince  by  way  of  Mines.  He  returned  to  the 
province  from  Louisburg  in  the  autunni  of  the  same  year,  and  wrote  to  Gov- 
ernor Mascarene,  who  had  succeeded  Armstrong,  announcing  his  intention  of 
establishing  himself  as  missionary  at  Chignecto.  The  go\ernment  refused, 
however,  to  sanction  his  return  to  the  province,  and  Father  Laboret  was 
appointed  curiS  of  Chignecto.  Father  De  St.  Poucy  was  succeeded  at  Annap- 
olis by  Father  Nicholas  Vauquelin,  who  continued  to  perform  the  functions  of 
cur^  until  June,  1743.  The  first  mention  made  of  Father  De  Loutre,  of  the 
Society  of  Foreign  Missions,  who  afterwards  played  so  conspicuous  a  part  in 
opposing  the  measures  taken  by  the  English  government  to  drive  the  Indians 
and  Acadians  out  of  the  pro\ince,  is  found  in  a  letter  addressed  to  him  from 
Governor  Mascarene,  in  January,  1741.  Mascarene  was  a  man  of  ability 
and  moderation  of  temper,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that,  if  his 
successors  in  the  government  uf  the  province,  Cornwallis  and  Lawrence,  had 
followed  the  policy  of  conciliation  which  he  initiated,  the  discontent  and 
anxiety  of  the  Acadians  and  the  hostility  of  the  Indians,  would  have  been 
soon  replaced  by  a  loyal  and  contented  submission  to  the  English  govern- 
ment, and  the  disgraceful  outrages  upon  justice  and  humanity  involved  in  the 
expulsion  of  the  Acadians,  which  make  one  of  the  worst  chapters  in  the 
harsh  history  of  English  colonial  government,  wouUl  have  been  avoided. 

With  the  complete  occupation  of  Halifax  by  the  British,  in  1 74 1,  the  his- 
tory of  the  relations  between  the  colonial  government  and  the  Acadians 
underwent  a  sudden  and  radical  change.  Within  six  years  priests  and  people 
had  disappeared  from  the  province,  and  were  dispersed  in  helpless  and  scat- 
tered groups  over  English  colonies.  The  larger  military  force  at  the  disposal 
of  the  English  governors  at  Halifax,  enabled  them"  to  carry  out,  without 
further  delay,  the  long-contemplated  plan  for  the  forcible  removal  of  the 
whole  body  of  the  Acadian  population.  The  history  of  their  expulsion  has 
been  often  written,  and  has  been  made  familiar  by  poets  and  essayists  to  all 
readers.  It  is  a  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  English  colonial  government  of 
the  eigliteenth  century  which  will  not  easily  lose   its   interest  so  long   as   the 


270  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

associations  of  country  and  the  sacred  intimacy  of  family  ties  find  a  place  in 
men's  hearts.  The  missions  were  broken.  Fathers  Des  Enclaves,  Dandin, 
Chauvreaii.x,  and  Miniac  were  put  on  board  the  English  fleet  and  carried  off 
prisoners  with  the  people  among  whom  they  had  labored  long  and  faithfully. 
Father  De  Loiitre  sailed  for  France  after  the  capture  of  Fort  Beausejour,  but 
was  taken  prisoner  on  the  voyage  by  an  English  cruiser,  and  sent  to  Elizabeth 
Castle,  in  Jersey,  where  he  remained  for  eight  years. 

The  poor  exiles  of  this  period  fared  badly,  as  was  intended.  Some  were 
landed  in  Massachusetts,  friendless  and  starving;  many  died;  over  one  thou- 
sand became  a  public  charge.  Others  were  taken  further  south  and  were 
reduced  to  such  misery  that  they  vve;re  sold  as  slaves.  Others  took  refuge  in 
Cape  Breton  and  in  St.  John's  (now  Prince  Edward)  Island.  After  peace 
was  proclaimed  and  the  footing  of  the  English  colony  firmly  established,  the 
embargo  was  taken  off  Acadian  settlers.  Some  of  these  poor  people,  who 
were  longing  for  their  "dear  Acadie,"  and  who  were  near  enough  to  carry 
out  their  wishes,  returned,  but  returned  to  find  their  homes  occupied  by  the 
invader.  Their  clearings  and  houses  thus  being  lost  to  them,  they  settled 
along  the  shores,  and,  as  time  wore  on,  became  quite  a  thriving  population, 
gaining  their  living  from  the  treasures  of  the  sea,  and  establishing  fisheries 
now  a  source  of  vast  wealth  to  the  Dominion. 

Acadia  is  now  but  a  historic  memory.  Its  very  name  is  lost  in  the  newer 
British  one  of  Nova  Scotia.    Yet  still,  in  the  pathetic  words  of  Longfellow: 

Still  stands  the  forest  primeval;  but  under  the  shade  of  its  branches 

Dwells  another  race,  with  other  customs  and  language. 

Only  along  the  shore  of  the  mournful  and  mist)-  Atlantic 

Linger  a  few  Acadian  peasants,  whose  fathers  from  exile 

Wandered  back  to  their  native  land  to  die  in  its  bosom. 

In  the  fisherman's  cot  the  wheel  and  the  loom  are  still  busy; 

Maidens  still  wear  their  Norman  caps  and  their  kirtles  of  homespun, 

And  by  the  evening  fire  repeat  Evangeline's  storj', 

While  from  its  rocky  caverns  the  deep- voiced  neighboring  ocean 

Speaks,  and  in  accents  disconsolate  answers  the  wail  of  the  forest. 

In  1759,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  provincial  assembly  banishing  "popish 
priests,"  under  penalty  of  imprisonment,  etc.;  any  person  found  harboring 
and  concealing  one  to  pay  a  fine  of  £50  for  the  first  offense;  to  be  set  in  the 
pillory,  and  find  securities  for  good  behavior.  In  this  manner  ended  the 
French  missions  in  Acadia;  but  a  soil  crowded  with  the  associations  of  so 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  271 

snany  laborers  in  tlie  Lord's  vineyard,  was  not  long  destined  to  remain  barren. 
An  Irish  Catholic  Churcli,  full  of  vigorous  life,  strong  in  that  vitality  of  the 
faith  inherent  in  the  race,  has  sprung  up  on  the  ruins  of  the  French  missions. 
The  age  has  grown  more  tolerant,  the  old  barriers  against  liberty  of  con- 
science have  been  broken  down,  and  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  British  prov- 
inces has  no  longer  to  contend  against  the  difficulties  and  perils  that  beset  the 
early  missionaries.  Looking  back  now  at  their  shadowy  figures,  standing  in 
tlie  eighteenth  century,  and  unclouded  by  the  dark  prejudices  of  race  and 
religion  which  then  enveloped  them,  we  are  ab'e,  in  this  age.  to  pay  a  more 
just  and  grateful  tribute  of  admiration  to  the  brave  and  faitliful  services  they 
'•endered  to  the  Acadians. 


Chapter  XIV. 


The  IDisslon  to  the  Hupons. 


LIVES  OF  Holiness  and  Toii,.  —  Father  Caron  and  his  Colleagues  —  The 
Wyandot  Indians.  —  Father  Brebceuf  and  his  Savage  Children.  —  The 
River  Journey  and  the  Arrival.  — Welcome  to  "Echon"  —The  Mission 
Cross.  —  A  Plague  in  the  Land.  —  Superstition  and  Danger.  —  Glorious 
Martyrdom. — Iroquois  Warriors  and  their  Deeds. — Burning  oe  a  Mar- 
tyr's Church. — Invasion,  Torture  and  Death. 

^N  the  account  given  of  Clianiplain,  the  founder  and  first  governor 
of  Quebec,  we  left  Father  Le  Caron,  the  Franciscan  Recollect, 
^  laboring  among  the  Huron  Indians  of  that  region.  In  1623, 
while  temporarily  sojourning  at  Quebec,  this  missionary  was 
rejoiced  by  the  arrival  from  France  of  Father  Vic-l  and  Brother 
Sagard  of  the  same  order.  The  good  missionary  at  once  invited 
them  to  a  place  in  his  canoe,  and  the  three  Franciscans  paddled  off  to  the  dis- 
tant missions  of  the  Hurons.  The  old  cabin  was  renovated,  and  the  priests 
began  to  labor  among  the  savages  as  well  as  they  could.  Two  adults  were 
baptized. 

But  it  was  a  hard  life  and  a  stony  field.  The  missionaries  subsisted  chiefly 
on  Indian  corn,  peas,  and  squashes.  A  little  stream  that  ran  near  the  door 
furnished  their  only  drink.  On  the  long  \vinter  evenings  they  read  by  the 
light  of  the  fire  —  having  no  candles.  They  retired  to  rest  on  beds  of  bark, 
and  slept  soundly  after  the  daily  round  of  ceaseless  toil. 

273 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  273 

In  tlie  summer  of  1624  Father  Le  Caron  returned  to  Quebec  on  business 
of  importance.  The  aid  of  the  Jesuits  was  requested  in  the  work  of  the  mis- 
sions, and  in  the  year  followiiij^  three  fathers  were  sent  to  Canada.  Fathers 
John  de  Brebeuf,  Charles  Lallemant,  and  Evremond  Mass^,  themselves  all 
eager  for  the  task,  were  the  priests  selected  by  their  superiors  for  the  trying 
mission.  These  apostolic  men  sailed  from  Dieppe,  April  26,  1625,  and  reached 
Quebec  after  a  prosperous  voyage.  The  reception  they  at  first  met  was 
enough  to  have  appalled  any  hearts  less  resolute  and  inspired  from  above 
than  were  the  hearts  of  Father  Brebeuf  and  his  companions.  The  Recollects, 
a  branch  of  the  Franciscan  order,  who,  through  Father  Le  Caron,  had  invited 
them  over,  had  received  at  their  convent  on  the  river  St^  Charles  no  tidings 
of  their  arrival;  Champlain,  ever  friendly  to  the  missionaries  of  the  faith,  was 
absent;  Caen,  the  Calvinist,  then  at  the  head  of  the  fur-trading  monopoly  of 
New  France,  refused  them  shelter  in  the  fort;  and  the  private  traders  at 
Quebec  closed  their  doors  against  them.  To  perish  in  the  wilderness,  or  to 
return  to  France  from  the  inhospitable  shores  of  the  New  World,  was  the  only 
alternative  before  them.  At  this  juncture  the  good  Recollects,  hearing  of 
tnoir  arrival  and  destitution,  hastened  from  their  convent  in  their  boat,  and 
reixived  the  outcast  sons  of  Loyola  with  every  demonstration  of  joy  and  hos- 
pitality, and  carried  them  to  the  convent.  The  sons  of  St.  Francis  and  St. 
Ignatius  united  at  once  in  administering  to  the  spiritual  necessities  of  the 
French  at  Quebec,  and  the  latter,  by  their  heroic  labors  and  sacrifices,  soon 
overcame  the  prejudice  of  their  enemies. 

From  his  transient  home  at  Quebec,  Father  Brebeuf  watched  for  an 
opportunfly  of  advancing  to  the  field  of  his  mission  among  the  Indians.  The 
first  opportunity  that  presented  itself  was  the  proposed  descent  of  Father  Vicl 
to  Three  Rivers,  in  order  to  make  a  retreat  and  attend  to  some  necessary 
business  of  the  mission.  Father  Brt5beuf,  accompanied  by  the  Recollect, 
Father  Dallion,  lost  no  time  in  repairing  to  the  trading  post  to  meet  the 
father,  return  with  him  and  the  expected  annual  flotilla  of  trading  canoes 
from  the  Huron  country,  and  commence  his  coveted  work  among  the  Wyan- 
dots.  But  he  arrived  only  to  hear  that  Father  Viel  had  gained  the  crown  of 
martyrdom,  together  with  a  little  Christian  boy,  whom  their  Indian  conduc- 
tor, as  his  canoe  shot  across  the  last  dangerous  rapids  in  the  river  Des 
Prairies,  behind  Montreal,  seized  and  threw  into  the  foaming  torrent  together, 
by  which  they  were  swept  immediately  into  the  seething  gulf  below,  never 
to  rise  again.     Neither  the  death  of  Father  Viel,  nor  his  own  ignorance  of 


274  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  Iluroti  language,  appalled  the  l)iave  heart  of  Fatlici'  15i  chciif,  wlio,  wlicn 
the  flotilla  came  clown,  begged  to  be  taken  hack  as  a  passengc'-  tu  the  Iluixm 
country;  but  the  refusal  of  the  Indians  to  receive  him  compelled  him  to 
return  to  Quebec.  On  the  20th  of  July,  1625,  he  went  among  the  Montag- 
nais,  with  whom  he  wintered,  and  for  live  months  suffered  all  the  rigors  of 
the  climate  in  a  mere  bark-cabin,  in  which  he  ii;id  to  endure  both  smoke  and 
filtli,  the  inevitable  penalties  of  accepting  savage  hospitality.  Besides  this  his 
encampment  was  shifted  with  the  ever-varying  chase,  and  it  was  only  his  zeal 
that  enabled  him,  amid  incessant  changes  and  distractions,  to  learn  much  of 
the  Indian  language  for  the  acquisition  of  the  various  dialects  of  which,  as 
well  as  for  his  aptitude  in  accommodating  himself  to  Indian  life  and  manners, 
he  was  singularly  gifted.  On  the  27th  of  March  following,  he  returned  to 
Quebec,  and  resumed,  in  union  with  the  Recollects,  the  care  of  the  French 
settlers.  The  Jesuits  and  Recollects,  moving  together  in  perfect  unison,  went 
alternately  from  Quebec  to  the  Recollect  convent  and  Jesuit  res'dence,  on  a 
small  river  called  St.  Charles,  not  far  from  the  city. 

The  colony  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  was  soon  increased  by  the  arrival  of 
Fathers  Noirot  and  De  la  Noue,  with  twenty  laborers,  and  thev  were  thus 
enabled  to  build  a  residence  for  themselves — the  mother  house  and  head- 
quarters of  these  valiant  soldiers  of  the  cross  in  their  long  and  eventful  strug- 
gle with  paganism  and  superstition  among  the  Indians.  Father  Brdbeuf  and 
his  companions  now  devoted  their  labors  to  the  French  at  Quebec,  then  num- 
bering only  forty-three,  hearing  confessions,  preaching,  and  studving  the 
Indian  languages.  They  also  bestowed  considerable  attention  on  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil.  But  these  labors  were  but  preparatory  for  others  more 
arduous,  but  more  attractive  to  them. 

In  1626  the  Huron  mission  was  again  attempted  by  Father  Br^beuf 
He,  together  with  Father  Dallion  and  the  Jesuit,  Father  Noue,  was  sent  to 
Three  Rivers,  to  attempt  a  passage  to  the  Huron  country.  When  the  Indian 
flotilla  arrived  at  Three  Rivers,  the  Hurons  were  ready  to  receive  Father 
Dallion  on  board,  but  being  unaccustomed  to  the  Jesuit  habit,  and  objecting, 
or  pretending  to  object,  to  the  portly  frame  of  Father  Br^beuf,  they  refused 
a  passage  to  him  and  his  companion,  Father  Noue.  At  last  some  presents 
secured  a  place  in  the  flotilla  for  the  two  Jesuits.  The  missionaries,  after  a 
painful  voyage,  arrived  at  St.  Gabriel,  or  La  Rochelle  ,in  the  Huron  country, 
and  took  up  the  mission  which  Le  Caron  and  Viel   had  so  nobly  pioneered. 

The  Hurons,  whose  proper  name   was  Wendat,  or  Wyandot,  were  a 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  2751 

powerful  tribe,  numbering  at  least  thirty  thousand  souls,  living  in  eighteen 
villages  scattered  over  a  small  strip  of  land  on  a  peninsula  in  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  Georgian  Bay.  Other  tribes,  kindred  to  them,  stretched 
through  New  York  and  into  the  continent  as  far  south  as  the  Carolinas. 
Their  towns  were  well  built  and  strongly  defended,  and  they  were  good 
tillers  of  the  soil,  active  traders,  and  brave  warriors.  They  were,  however, 
beliind  their  neighbors  in  their  domestic  life  and  in  their  styles  of  dress,  which 
for  both  sexes  were  exceedingly  scant.  Their  objects  of  worship  were  one 
supreme  deity,  called  the  Master  of  Life,  to  whom  they  offered  human  sacri- 
fices, and  an  infinite  number  of  inferior  deities,  or  rather  fiends,  inhabiting 
rivers,  cataracts,  or  other  natural  objects,  riding  on  the  storms,  or  living  in 
some  animal  or  plant,  and  whom  they  propitiated  with  tobacco.  Father 
Br^beuf  had  acquired  sufficient  knowledge  of  their  language  to  make  himself 
understood  by  the  natives,  and  he  was  greatly  assisted  by  the  instructions  and 
manuscripts  of  Fathers  Le  Caron  and  Viel.  Father  Noue,  being  unable  to 
acquire  the  language  by  reason  of  his  great  age  and  defective  memory, 
returned  to  Quebec  in  1627,  and  was  followetl  the  next  year  by  Father  Dal- 
lion,  who  had  made  a  brave  but  unsuccessful  effort  to  plant  the  cross  among 
the  Attiarandaronk,  or  Neutrals.  The  undaunted  Br(5beuf  was  thus  in  1639 
left  alone  among  the  liurons.  He  soon  won  their  confidence  and  respect, 
and  was  adopted  into  the  tribe  by  the  name  of  Echon.  Though  few  conver- 
sions rewarded  his  labors  among  them  during  his  three  years'  residence,  still 
he  was  amply  compensated  by  his  success  in  gaining  their  hearts,  acquiring 
their  language,  and  thoroughly  understanding  their  character  and  manners. 
So  completely  had  he  gained  the  good-will  of  the  Ilurons  that,  when  he  was 
about  to  return  in  1629  to  Quebec,  whither  his  superior  had  recalled  him,  in 
consequence  of  the  distress  prevailing  in  the  colony,  the  Indians  crowded 
around  him  to  prevent  him  from  entering  the  canoes,  and  addressed  him  in 
this  touching  language:  "What!  Echon,  dost  thou  leave  us?  Thou  hast 
been  here  now  three  years  to  learn  our  language,  to  teach  us  to  know  thy 
God,  to  adore  and  serve  him,  having  come  but  for  that  end,  as  thou  hast 
shown;  and  now,  when  thou  knowest  our  language  more  perfectly  than  any 
other  Frenchman,  thou  leavest  us.  If  we  do  not  know  the  God  thou  adorest, 
we  shall  call  him  to  witness  that  it  is  not  our  fault,  but  thine,  to  leave  us  so." 
Deeply  as  he  felt  this  appeal,  the  Jesuit  could  know  no  other  voice  when 
his  superior  spoke;  anil  having  given  every  encouragement  to  those  who 
were  well  disposed  toward  the  faith,  and  explained  why  he  should  go  when 


276  TRIALS  .IND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

his  superior  required  it,  he  embarked  on  tlie  flotilla  of  twelve  canoes,  and 
reached  Quebec  on  the  lytii  of  July,  1629.  Tlirce  days  after  his  arrival  at 
Quebec,  that  port  was  captured  by  the  English  under  the  traitor  Kirk,  who 
bore  the  deepest  hatred  toward  the  Jesuits,  whose  residence  he  would  have 
fired  upon  could  he  have  brought  his  vessel  near  enough  for  his  cannon  to 
bear  upon  it.  He  pillaged  it,  however,  compelling  the  fathers  to  abandon  it 
and  fly  for  safety  to  Tadoussac.  But  Father  Brdbeuf  and  his  companions 
were,  together  with  Champlain,  detained  as  prisoners.  Amongst  the  fol- 
lowers of  Kirk  was  one  Michel,  a  bitter  and  relentless  Huguenot,  who  was 
by  his  temperament  and  infirmities  prone  to  violence,  and  who  vented  his 
rage  especially  against  the  Jesuits.  He  and  the  no  less  bigoted  Kirk  found  in 
Father  Brdbeuf  an  intrepid  defender  of  his  order  and  of  his  companions 
against  their  foul  calumnies,  while  at  the  same  time  his  noble  character  showed 
how  well  it  was  trained  to  the  practice  of  Christian  humility  and  charity. 

On  the  occasion  here  particularly  alluded  to.  Kirk  was  conversing  with 
the  fathers,  who  were  then  his  prisoners,  and, with  a  malignant  expression, said: 

"  Gentlemen,  your  business  in  Canada  was  to  enjoy  what  belonged  to 
M.  de  Caen,  whom  you  dispossessed." 

"Pardon  me,  sir,"  answered  Father  Br^beuf,  "we  came  purely  for  the 
glory  of  God,  and  exposed  ourselves  to  every  kind  of  danger  to  convert  the 
Indians." 

Here  Michel  broke  in:  "  Ay,  ay,  convert  the  Indians!  You  mean,  con- 
vert the  beaver  l" 

Father  Brdbeuf,  conscious  of  his  own  and  his  companion's  innocence, 
and  deeming  the  occasion  one  which  required  at  his  hands  a  full  and  un()uali- 
fied  denial,  solemnly  and  deliberately  answered : 

"Th.it  is  false!" 

The  infuriated  Michel,  raising  his  fist  at  his  prisoner  in  a  threatening 
manner,  exclaimed: 

"  But  for  the  respect  I  owe  the  general,  I  would  strike  you  for  giving 
me  the  lie." 

Father  Brdbeuf,  who  possessed  a  powerful  frame  and  commanding  figure, 
stood  unmoved  and  unruffled.  But  he  did  not  rely  upon  these  qualities  of 
the  man,  though  he  knew  no  fear,  but  illustrated  by  his  example  on  this  as  on 
every  other  occasion  the  virtues  of  a  Christian  and  a  minister  of  peace.  With 
a  humility  and  charity  that  showed  how  well  the  strong  and  naturally  impul- 
sive man  had  subdued  his  passions,  he  endeavored  to  appease  the  anger  of  his 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  277 

assailant  by  an  apology,  which,  while  it  was  justl}'  calculated  to  remove  all 
cause  of  offense,  was  accompanied  with  a  solemn  vindication  of  himself  and 
companions  from  the  unjust  imputation  just  cast  upon  them.     He  said: 

"  You  must  excuse  me.  I  did  not  mean  to  give  you  the  lie.  I  should 
be  very  sorry  to  do  so.  The  words  I  used  are  those  we  use  in  the  schools 
when  a  doubtful  question  is  advanced,  and  they  mean  no  offense.  Therefore, 
I  ask  you  to  i):uc!on  mc." 

"  Bon  Dieu,"  said  Champlain,  "you  swear  well  for  a  reformer!" 

"  I  knew  it,"  replied  Michel ;  "  I  should  be  content  if  I  had  struck  that 
Jesuit  who  gave  me  the  lie  before  my  general." 

The  unfortunate  Michel  continued  in  this  way  unceasingly  to  rave  over 
the  protended  insult,  which  no  apoHgies  could  obliterate.  He  died  shortly 
afterward  in  one  of  his  paroxysms  of  fury,  and  was  interred  under  the  rocks 
of  Tadoussic.  It  was  not  permitted  to  him  to  execute  his  threatened  ven- 
geance on  the  Jesuit,  whom  he  was  the  first  to  insult,  and  whom  he  never 
forgave,  though  himself  forgiven. 

Father  Br^beuf,  together  with  the  truly  great  and  Catholic  Champlain, 
the  governor  of  Quebec,  and  with  the  other  missionaries,  were  carried 
prisoners  to  England,  whence  after  some  time  they  were  allowed  to  proceed 
to  France. 

Here,  we  are  told,  the  missionary  lived  among  his  brethren  with  the  sim- 
plicity of  a  little  child.  The  thorny  way  of  the  Indian  missions  had  but 
advanced  him  on  the  royal  road  of  the  Cross.  In  1631  he  wrote:  "  I  feel 
that  I  have  no  talent  for  anything,  recognizing  in  myself  only  an  inclination 
to  obey  others.  I  believe  that  I  am  only  fit  to  be  a  porter,  to  clean  out  the 
rooms  of  my  brethren,  and  to  serve  in  the  kitchen.  I  mean  to  conduct  myself 
in  the  society  as  if  I  were  a  beggar,  admitted  into  it  by  sufferance,  and  I  will 
receive  everything  that  is  granted  me  as  a  particular  favor."  The  person 
who  wrote  this  was,  without  any  doubt,  one  of  the  most  gifted  men  of 
his  age  1 

On  the  2  2(1  of  May,  1633,  to  the  great  joy  of  Quebec,  Cham- 
plain returned  to  resume  his  swa}-  in  Canada,  and  Father  Br(5bcuf  accompa- 
nied him,  together  with  Father's  Mass<5,  Daniel,  and  Davost,  all  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus.  Though  Father  Brdbcuf  was  not  inactive  al)out  Quebec,  still  his 
heart  longed  fur  thr  llmon  honies  and  council-ilres,  and  still  more  for  Huron 
souls.  Shortly  afterward,  he  had  the  consolation  of  beholding  the  faithful 
Louis  Amantacha,  a  Christian   Huron,   arriving   at   Quebec,   followed   by  the 


i-jZ  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

usual  Indian  flotilla  of  canoes.  A  council  was  held;  sixty  chiefs  sat  in  a 
circle  round  the  council-fire,  and  the  noble  Champlain,  the  intrepid  Br^beuf, 
and  the  zealous  Lallcmant,  stood  in  their  midst.  A  treaty  of  friendship  was 
concluded  between  the  French  and  the  Hurons,  and,  in  confiding  the  mission- 
aries to  his  new  allies,  Champlain  thus  addressed  the  latter:  "  These  we  con- 
sider as  fathers ;  these  are  dearer  to  us  than  life.  Think  not  that  the}-  have 
left  France  underpressure  of  want;  no,  they  were  there  in  high  esteem; 
they  come  not  to  gather  up  your  furs,  but  to  open  to  you  the  doors  of  eternal 
life.  If  you  love  the  French,  as  you  say  you  love  them,  then  love  and  honor 
these,  our  fathers." 

On  the  eve  of  departure,  howe\?r,  a  misunderstanding  among  the  Indians 
prevented  the  missionaries  from  proceeding  on  their  journey,  and  another  year 
passed  away  before  the  fleet  of  canoes  came  down  the  St.  Lawrence. 

In  the  summer  of  1634  the  dusky  traders  landed  their  light  crafts  at  Three 
Rivers,  and  this  time  Father  Br^beuf  and  his  two  companions  set  out  witli 
them  on  their  return  trip. 

They  reckoned  the  distance  at  nine  hundred  miles;  but  distance  was  the 
least  repellant  feature  of  this  most  arduous  journey.  Barefooted,  lest  their 
shoes  should  injure  the  frail  vessel,  each  priest  crouched  in  his  canoe,  and 
toiled  with  unpracticed  hand  to  propel  it.  Before  him,  week  after  week,  he 
saw  the  same  lank,  unkempt  hair,  the  same  tawnj-  shoulders,  and  long,  naked 
arms  ceaselessly  plying  the  paddle.  The  canoes  were  soon  separated,  and  for 
more  than  a  month  the  priests  rarely  or  never  met.  Br^beuf  spoke  a  little 
Huron,  and  could  converse  with  his  escort,  but  Daniel  ;nd  Davost  were 
doomed  to  a  silence  unbroken  save  by  the  occasional  unintelligible  com- 
plaints and  menaces  of  the  Indians,  of  whom  many  were  sick  with  an  epi- 
demic, and  all  were  terrified,  desponding,  and  sullen. 

Their  only  food  was  a  pittance  of  Indian  corn  crushed  between  two 
stones  and  mixed  with  water.  The  toil  was  extreme.  Br^beuf  counted 
thirty-five  portages  where  their  canoes  were  lifted  from  the  water,  and  car- 
ried on  the  shoulders  of  the  voyagers  around  the  rapids  or  cataracts.  More 
than  fifty  times  besides  they  were  forced  to  wade  in  the  raging  current, 
pushing  up  their  empty  barks  or  dragging  them  with  ropes.  The  Apostle 
of  the  Hurons  tried  to  do  his  part,  but  the  boulders  and  sharp  rocks  wounded 
his  naked  feet  and  compelled  him  to  desist.  He  and  his  companions  bore 
their  share  of  the  baggage  across  the  portages,  sometimes  a  distance  of  sev- 
eral miles.     Four  trips  at  least  were  required  to  convey  the  whole.     The  way 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  279 

was  through  the  dense  forest,  encumbered  with  rocks  and  logs,  tangled  with 
roots  and  underbrush,  damp  with  perpetual  shade,  and  redolent  of  decayed 
leaves  and  mouldering  wood.  The  Indians  themselves  were  often  spent  with 
fatigue.  Father  Brt5beuf,  with  his  iron  frame  and  unconquerable  resolution, 
doubted  if  his  strength  would    sustain  him  to  his  journey's  end. 

He  complains  that  he  had  no  moment  to  read  his  breviary,  except  by  the 
moonlight  or  the  fire,  when  stretched  out  to  sleep  on  a  bare  rock  by  some 
savage  cataract  of  the  Ottawa,  or  in  a  damp  nook  of  the  adjacent  forest. 
Descending  French  River,  and  following  the  lonely  shore  of  the  great 
Georgian  Bay,  the  canoe  which  carried  Brdbeuf  at  length  neared  its  destina- 
tion, thirty  days  after  leaving  Three  Rivers.  Before  him,  stretched  in  wild 
slumber,  lay  the  forest  shore  of  the  Huron  Nation.  Did  his  spirit  sink  as  he 
approached  his  dreary  home,  oppressed  with  a  dark  foreboding  of  what  the 
future  should  bring  forth? 

Br^beuf  and  his  Huron  companions  having  landed,  the  Indians,  throwing 
the  missionary's  baggage  on  the  ground,  left  him  to  his  own  resources,  and, 
without  heeding  his  remonstrances,  set  forth  for  their  respective  villages, 
some  twenty  miles  distant.  Thus  abandoned,  the  priest  knelt,  not  to  implore 
succor  in  his  perplexity,  but  to  offer  thanks  to  the  Providence  which  had 
shielded  him  thus  far.  Then  rising,  he  pondered  as  to  what  course  he  should 
take.  He  knew  the  spot  well.  It  was  on  the  borders  of  the  small  inlet 
called  Thunder  Bay.  In  the  neighboring  Huron  town  of  Toanch^  he  had 
lived  three  years,  preaching  and  baptizing.  He  hid  his  baggage  in  the 
woods,  including  the  vessels  for  the  Holy  Mass,  more  precious  than  all  the  ■ 
rest,  and  began  to  search  for  his  new  abode.  Evening  was  near,  when,  after 
following,  bewildered  and  anxious,  a  gloomy  forest  path,  he  issued  upon  a 
wild  clearing,  and  saw  before  him  the  bark  roofs  of  Ihonatiria. 

A  crowd  ran  out  to  meet  him.  "  Echon  has  come  again!  Echon  has 
come  again!"  they  cried,  recognizing  in  the  distance  the  stately  figure  robed 
in  black  that  advanced  from  the  border  of  the  forest.  They  led  him  to  the 
town,  and  the  whole  population  swarmed  about  him.  After  a  short  rest,  he 
set  out  with  a  number  of  3'oung  Indians  in  quest  of  his  baggage,  returning 
with  it  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Welcomed  by  one  of  the  richest  and  most  hospitable  Hurons  of  Ihona- 
tiria, Father  Brcbcuf  made  his  abode  with  him.  As  days  passed  he  anxiously 
awaited  the  arrival  of  his  two  fellow-priests  and  their  French  companions. 
One  by  one  they  made  their  appearance.     But  they  could  scarcely  be  recog- 


28o  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

nized.  Half-dead  with  hunger  and  fatigue,  they  resembled  living  skeletons 
more  than  men. 

A  house  for  the  black-robes  after  the  Huron  model  was  soon  erected. 
As  hundreds  of  Indians  joined  in  the  work,  the  bark  mansion  rose  in  a  few 
dayf — a  complete  edifice.  It  was  divided  into  three  parts — store-house,  dwell- 
ing-house, and  chapel.  This  house  and  its  furniture  soon  became  the  wonder 
of  the  whole  Huron  country.  Visitors  were  in  abundance.  It  was  the  clock, 
above  all,  that  puzzled  and  pleased  them. 

The  guests  would  sit  in  expectant  silence  by  the  liour,  squatted  on  ihe 
ground,  waiting  to  hear  it  strike.  They  thought  it  was  alive,  and  asked  what 
it  ate.  As  the  last  stroke  sounded  one  of  the  Frenchmen  would  cry  "Stop!" 
and  to  the  admiration  of  the  company  the  obedient  clock  was  silent. 

The  mill  was  another  wonder,  and  the}'  were  never  tired  of  turning  it. 
Besides  these,  there  was  a  prism  and  a  magnet;  also  a  magnifying  glass, 
wherein  a  flea  was  transformed  into  a  frightful  monster,  and  a  multiplying 
lens,  which  showed  them  the  same  object  eleven  times  repeated. 

"All  this,"  writes  Father  Brdbeuf,  "serves  to  gain  their  affection, 
and  make  them  more  docile  in  respect  to  the  admirable  and  incomprehensible 
mysteries  of  our  Faith ;  for  tlie  opinion  they  have  of  our  genius  and  capacity 
makes  them  believe  whatever  we  tell  them." 

"  What  does  the  captain  say?  "  was  the  frequent  question,  for  by  this 
title  of  honor  they  designated  the  clock.  "When  he  strikes  twelve  times,  he 
says, '  Hang  on  the  kettle,'  and  when  he  strikes  four  times,  he  says,  'Get  up 
and  go  home.'  "  Both  interpretations  were  v/ell  remembered.  At  noon  vis- 
itors were  never  wanting  to  share  the  fathers'  sagamite,  but  at  the  stroke  of 
four  all  rose  and  departed,  leaving  the  missionaries  for  a  time  ii.  p?ace. 

Father  Rrdbeuf,  as  superior  of  the  mission,  and  his  two  colleagues  now 
began  their  labors.  To  warriors  and  women,  cjiildren  and  chiefs,  the  Gospel 
was  now  announced.  The  work  of  conversion  was  long  and  most  difficult. 
In  fact,  during  the  first  few  years  no  adults  were  baptized  save  those  at  the  point 
of  death.  The  experienced  Br<5bcuf  knew  Indian  nature  well,  and  he  greatly 
feared  backsliding.  Hence  bis  caution.  In  his  eyes  one  good  Christian  was 
better  than  a  multitude  of  bad  ones.  Besides,  all  the  Indian  vices  —  and  the 
Huron  nation  was  corrupt  to  the  core — h.ad  to  be  eradicated  before  Catholicity 
could  be  planted.  The  herculean  toil  of  battling  against  depravity,  and  of 
seeing  that  neither  young  nor  old  died  without  aid,  such  was  the  unceasing 
task  of  the  Jesuits. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  281 

In  the  summer  of  1635  there  was  a  severe  drought,  which  defied  Indian 
magic,  and  ruinetl  the  reputation  of  many  a  medicine  man.  One  of  the  most 
renowned  of  these  jugglers,  seeing  liis  reputation  tottering  under  his  repeated 
failures,  bethought  himself  of  accusing  the  Jesuits,  and  gave  cut  that  the  red 
color  of  the  cross  which  stood  before  their  house  scared  the  bird  of  thunder, 
and  caused  him  to  fly  another  way.  On  this  a  clamor  arose.  The  popular 
ire  turned  against  the  priests,  and  the  obnoxious  cross  was  condemned  to  be  hewn 
down.  Aghast  at  the  threatened  sacrilege,  they  attempted  to  reason  away  the 
storm,  assuring  the  crowd  that  the  lightning  was  not  a  bird,  but  certain  hot 
and  fiery  exhalations,  which  being  imprisoned,  darted  this  way  and  that,  try- 
ing to  escape.  As  this  philosophy  failed  to  convince  their  hearers,  the  mis- 
sionaries changed  their  line  of  defense. 

"You  say,"  obser\cd  the  fathers,  "that  the  red  color  of  the  cross 
frightens  the  bird  of  thunder.  Then  paint  the  cross  white,  and  see  if  the 
thunder  will  come."     This  was  done,  but  the  clouds  still  kept  aloof. 

"Your  spirits  cannot  help  }ou,"  said  Father  Brdbeuf,  "and  )our  sorcerers 
have  deceived  you  with  lies.  Now  ask  the  aid  of  Ilim  who  made  the  world, 
and  perhaps  He  will  listen  to  your  prayers."  And  he  added  that  if  the 
Indians  would  renounce  their  sins,  and  obey  the  true  God,  they  would  make 
a  procession  daily  to  implore  His  favor  towards  them.  There  was  no  want  of 
promises.  The  processions  were  begun,  as  were  also  nine  Masses  to  St. 
Joseph,  and  as  heavy  rains  occurred  soon  after,  the  Indians  conceived  a  high 
idea  of  the  efficacy  of  the  French  "medicine." 

If  in  1636  more  Jesuits  came  to  the  assistance  of  the  dauntless  Brdbeuf,  his 
difficulties  on  that  account  ditl  not  diminish.  For  several  years  the  pestilence 
had  scourged  the  Hurons,  but  now  it  arrived  in  its  most  terrible  form  —  the 
small-pox.  Mourning  overshadowed  the  land.  Brdbeuf  and  his  brave  band 
became,  if  possible,  more  than  heroes.  Amid  the  wails  of  the  living  and  the 
groans  of  the  dying,  they  passed  around,  like  good  angels,  from  cabin  to  cabin, 
aiding  and  comforting  as  they  went  along.  Often  the  only  return  for  their 
charity  were  jeers  and  curses. 

"  When  we  see  them,"  writes  Parkman,  "in  the  gloomy  February  of  1637, 
and  the  gloomier  months  that  followed,  toiling  on  foot  from  one  infected  town 
to  another,  wading  through  the  sodden  snow,  under  the  bare  and  dripping 
forest,  drenched  with  incessant  rains,  till  they  descried  at  length  through  the 
storm  the  clustering  dwellings  of  some  barbarous  hamlet,  when  we  see  them 
entering  one  after  another  these  wretcheil  abodes  of  misery  anil  darkness,  and 


282  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

all  for  one  sole  eiul,  the  baptism  of  the  sick  and  dying,  .  .  .  we  must  needs 
admire  the  self-sacrificing  zeal  with  which  it  was  pursued." 

In  those  wild  scenes  of  misery,  no  pen  can  picture  the  heroic  toils,  the  calm- 
ness, the  grandeur  of  soul  exhibited  by  Father  Brdbcuf.  IIow  the  human 
frame  could  endure  it  is  something  which  fills  the  mind  with  astonishmL-nt. 
Nor  had  he  to  battle  against  disease  and  Indian  wickedness  only.  The 
powers  of  darkness  assailed  the  great  priest  in  every  way  possible.  Demons 
in  troops  appeared  before  him,  sometimes  in  the  guise  of  men,  sometimes  as 
?«ars,  wolves,  or  wild-cats.  He  called  on  God  and  the  apparitions  vanished. 
Death,  like  a  skeleton,  sometimes  menaced  him,  and  once,  as  he  faced  it  with 
an  unquailing  eye,  it  fell  powerless  at  his  fett.  He  saw  the  vision  of  a  vast 
and  gorgeous  palace,  and  a  miraculous  voice  assured  him  that  such  was  to  be 
the  reward  of  those  who  dwelt  in  savage  hovels  for  the  cause  of  God.  Angels 
appeared  to  him,  and  more  than  once  St.  Joseph  and  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin 
were  visibly  present  before  his  sight. 

In  1637  Father  Br^beuf  had  the  extreme  consolation  of  solemnly  bap- 
tizing a  Huron  chief,  the  first  adult  in  health  yet  admitted  to  the  Christian 
fold.  It  was  done  with  great  ceremony,  and  in  the  presence  of  hundreds  of 
wondering  Indians.  But  the  devil  became  alarmed  at  this  triumph  of  the 
Faith.  More  than  ever  the  savages  began  to  suspect  the  Jesuits.  It  was 
secretly  whispered  abroad  that  they  had  bewitched  the  nation,  in  short,  were 
the  principal  cause  of  the  pest  which  threatened  to  destroy  it. 

A  dwarfish  medicine-man,  who  boasted  that  he  was  a  veritable  fiend 
incarnate,  originated  this  rumor.  The  slander,  says  Parkman,  spread  fast  and 
far.  Their  friends  looked  at  them  askance,  their  enemies  clamored  for  their 
lives.  Some  said  that  the  priests  concealed  in  their  houses  a  corpse  which 
infected  the  country — a  prevalent  notion  derived  from  some  half-instructed 
neophyte  concerning  the  body  of  Christ  in  the  Eucharist.  Others  ascribed 
the  evils  to  a  serpent,  others  to  a  spotted  frog,  others  to  a  demon  which  the 
priests  were  supposed  to  carry  in  the  barrel  of  a  gun.  Others  again  gave  out 
that  they  had  pricked  an  infant  to  death  with  awls  in  the  forest,  in  order  to 
kill  the  Huron  children  by  magic.  "  Perhaps,"  observes  Father  Le  Mercier, 
"  the  devil  was  enraged  because  we  had  placed  a  great  many  of  these  little 
innocents  in  Heaven." 

The  picture  of  the  Last  Judgment  became  an  object  of  terror.  It  was 
regarded  as  a  charm.  The  dragons  and  serpents  were  supposed  to  be  the 
demons  of  the  pest,  and  the  sinners  whom  they  were  so  busily  devouring  to 


CATHOLIC  CHCRCII  IN  AMERICA  283 

represent  its  victims.  On  the  top  of  a  spruce  tree  near  their  house  at  Ihona- 
tiria,  the  priests  had  fastened  a  small  streamer  to  show  the  direction  of  the 
wind.  This,  too,  was  taken  for  a  charm,  throwing  off  disease  and  death  to  all 
quarters.  The  clock,  once  an  object  of  harmless  wonder,  now  excited  the 
wildest  alarm,  and  the  Jesuits  were  forced  to  stop  it,  as  it  was  supposed  to 
sound  the  signal  of  death.  At  sunset,  one  would  have  seen  knots  of  Indians, 
their  faces  dark  with  dejection  and  terror,  listening  to  the  measured  sounds 
which  issued  from  within  the  neighboring  house  of  the  mission,  where,  with 
bolted  doors,  the  priests  were  singing  Litanies,  mistaken  for  incantations  by 
the  awe-struck  savages. 

On  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  August,  1637,  the  chiefs  held  a  solemn 
council  to  discuss  the  whole  question  of  the  pest  and  the  Jesuits.  Father 
Br^beuf  and  his  associates  were  requested  to  be  present,  and  gladly  they 
accepted  the  invitation.  A  stranger  scene  it  would  be  dfficult  to  imagine. 
Chiefs,  grizzly  with  age  and  bearing  the  scars  of  many  a  fierce  contest,  spent 
their  eloquence,  the  whole  gist  of  which  was — the  Huron  nation  was  dying 
away,  and  the  priests  were  the  cause.  When  the  last  of  the  dusky  orators  sat 
down,  the  noble  Br£5beuf  arose  and  thoroughly  exposed  the  utter  absurd- 
ity of  the  charges  against  himself  and  his  fellow  priests.  But  it  was  all  to  no 
purpose.  There  was  a  clamor  for  the  "  charmed  cloth!"  In  vain  did  the 
Jesuit  protest  that  they  had  nothing  of  the  kind.  The  loud  and  savage 
demands  but  increased. 

"If  you  will  not  believe  me,"  said  Br^beuf,  "go  to  our  house,  search 
everywhere,  and  if  you  are  not  sure  which  is  the  ciiarm,  take  all  our  clothing 
and  all  our  cloth  and  throw  them  into  the  lake." 

"Sorcerers  always  t:ilk  in  that  way,"  was  the  reply. 

"Then  wii:it  will  you  have  me  say?"  demanded  Br^beuf. 

«  Tell  US  the  cause  of  the  pest,"  was  still   asked. 

The  good  father's  explanations  and  the  loud  interruptions  of  the  Indians 
delayed  the  debate  until  long  after  midnight.  As  one  of  the  old  chiefs  passed 
out,  he  said  to  the  "  Xavier  of  North  America":  "  If  some  young  brave 
should  split  your  head,  we  shoulil  have  nothing  to  sa}-." 

The  fathers  were  now  in  peril  of  their  lives.  The  few  converts  they 
had  lately  made  came  to  them  in  secret  and  warned  them  that  their  death 
was  determined  upon.  The  iiouse  was  set  on  fire,  in  public  every  face  was 
averted  from  them,  and  a  new  council  was  called  to  pronounce  the  decree  of 
death.     They  appeared  before  it,  we  are  told,  with  a  front  of  such  unfiiuch- 


284  VRMLS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

ing  assurance,  that  their  judges,  Indian-like,  postponed  the  sentence.  Yet  it 
seemed  impossible  that  they  should  much  longer  escape.  BreSbeuf,  there- 
fore, wrote  a  letter  of  farewell  to  his  superior,  Father  Le  Jeunc,  at  Quebec, 
and  confided  it  to  some  converts  whom  he  could  trust,  to  be  carried  by  them 
to  its  destination. 

"  We  are,  perhaps,"  he  writes,  "  about  to  give  our  blood  antl  our  lives  in 
the  cause  of  our  Master,  Jesus  Christ.  It  seems  that  His  goodness  will 
accept  the  sacrifice,  as  regards  me,  in  expiation  of  my  great  and  nnmberless 
sins,  and  that  He  will  thus  crown  the  past  services  and  ardent  desires  of  all 
our  fathers  here.  .  .  .  Hlessed  be  His  name  forever,  that  He  has  chosen 
us  among  so  many  better  than  we  to  aid  Him  to  bear  His  cross  in  this  land ! 
In  all  things  His  holy  will  be  done."  The  spirit  of  the  fearless  Christian 
hero  shines  out  in  these  admirable  sentences. 

After  a  fervent  novena  to  St.  Joseph,  the  clouds  of  death  that  hung 
over  their  devoted  heads  began  to  slowly  move  away.  "  Truly,"  wrote 
Father  Le  Mercier,  "  it  is  an  unspeakable  happiness  for  us  in  the  midst  of 
this  barbarism  to  hear  the  roaring  of  the  demons,  and  to  see  earth  and  hell 
raging  against  a  handful  of  men  who  will  not  even  defend  themselves." 

The  faith  now  advanced.  Several  famous  chiefs  became  catechumens,  and 
the  greatest  sachems  listened  to  the  words  of  the  missionaries  ;  yet  still,  in  a 
nation  of  16,000,  not  one  hundred  were  Christians,  and  but  a  hundred  bap- 
tisms rewarded  their  labors.  The  following  year  was  more  consoling. 
Although  the  war  with  the  Iroquois  had  assumed  a  dangerous  form,  the 
missions  were  pushed  with  renewed  vigor,  except  that  among  the  Neutrals, 
for  Brdbeuf  had  gone  to  Quebec.  The  Christians  and  catechuinens  now 
became  so  numerous,  that  in  many  villages  they  formed  a  considerable  party, 
and  by  refusing  all  particip.ition  in  feasts  or  ceremonies  savoring  of  idolatry, 
drew  on  themselves  petty  persecution  and  bitter  hatred.  Hearing  the  name 
of  Mary  repeated  frequently,  the  pagans  called  the  Christians,  Marians,  a 
name  which  they  joyfully  received.  In  many  families  the  Catholic  Indian 
was  constantly  persecuted,  and  the  annals  of  the  mission  give  most  edifying 
accounts  of  the  perseverance  even  of  children. 

The  Algonquin  mission  also  took  a  new  impulse.  After  a  feast  of  the 
dead,  which  had  gathered  deputies  from  every  Algic  clan  around  the  upper 
lakes,  Raymbaut  and  Jogues,  as  we  shall  see  in  a  coming  chapter,  crossed 
Lake  Huron,  and  announced  the  gospel  to  the  assembled  Chippewas  at  the 
rapids  of  St.  Mary,  planting  the  cross  within  the  limits  of  Michigan,  as  it  has 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  285 

been  justly  said,  years  before  Eliot  had  preached  to  the  Algonquins  within 
ten  miles  of  Boston. 

Reverses  were  now  beginning  to  overshadow  the  future  of  the  Huron 
mission.  Father  Jogues,  sent  down  to  Quebec  in  the  summer  for  supplies, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Mohawks  as  he  returned.  The  flotilla  containing 
the  bravest  Christians  was  taken,  and  all  met  sufferings  or  death  on  their  way 
to  the  Mohawk.  Raymbaut  soon  after  died.  The  Iroquois  were  ravaging 
the  Huron  country;  but  Father  Br^bcuf,  undaunted  by  all,  wrote  "Never 
have  we  had  more  courage  for  spiritual  or  temporal."  Every  war  or  trading 
party  now  had  its  Christians,  who,  by  their  lulclity  in  prayer,  showed  the 
sincerity  of  their  belief.  Many  who  had  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  poor  missionary 
in  Huronia,  yielded  at  last,  when  they  saw  the  honor  paid  to  religion  at  Quebec, 
and  felt  the  greatness  of  the  sacrifices  made  by  those  apostolic  men. 

These,  on  their  return,  became  apostles,  and  many  went  to  obstinate  towns 
to  announce  the  faith,  and  warn  them  of  the  vengeance  of  Heaven.  The 
Christian  element  was  now  working  steadily  on.  Councils  were  held  to 
determine  the  best  means  of  extending  the  faith;  and  though  the  evils  of  war 
seemed  to  fall  especially  on  the  Christians,  none  wavered. 

By  1644  the  face  of  the  country  was  so  changed  that  the  missionaries 
resolved,  on  the  return  of  Br^beuf,  with  Fathers  Garreau  and  Chabanel, 
again  to  alter  the  mission  plan,  and  became  permanent  residents  at  the  various 
stations  called  Conception,  St.  Joseph's,  and  St.  Michael's,  returning  to  St. 
Mary's  only  for  their  annual  retreat,  or  to  attend  consultations.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  there  were  two  other  little  churches,  St.  Ignatius  and  St.  John 
the  Baptist. 

The  year  1645  brought  a  peace,  which,  for  the  first  time  in  many  years, 
left  the  St.  Lawrence  free;  and  Father  Bressani,  who  had  been  captured  the 
preceding  year,  now  reached  the  Huron  country  with  the  necessaries  of 
which  the  missionaries  had  long  been  deprived.  Relieved  of  the  long  and 
cruel  war,  Huronia  seemed  to  acquire  new  vigor,  and  the  Jesuits  began  to 
feel  hopes  of  extending  their  spiritual  conquests;  but  the  peace  so  lately  con- 
cluded was  soon  broken  by  the  Mohawks,  who  massacred  their  missionary, 
Isaac  Jogues.  War  was  rekindled.  The  Iroquois  burst  on  the  Huron  country, 
and  all  was  soon  dism.iy  and  ruin.  This  hour  of  misfortune  was  the  accept- 
able time  of  salvation.  As  famine,  disaster  and  destruction  closed  around 
them,  the  Hurons  gathered  beneath  the  cross,  their  only  hope.  Every  alarm 
produced  sincere  conversions,  stimulated  the  slow  or  tepid,  and  sent  convic- 


286  TkfALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Or  THE 

tion  into  tlie  hearts  of  unbelievers.  In  no  town  was  tlieie  a  chapel  large 
enough  for  the  congregation.  In  summer  and  winter,  proof  to  the  severity 
of  the  weather,  the  kneeling  crowd  without  joined,  each  in  his  own  heart,  in 
ihe  sacrifice  offered  within. 

In  July,  164S,  early  in  the  morning,  when  the  braves  were  absent  on 
war  or  hunting  parties,  when  none  but  old  men,  women,  and  children  tenanted 
the  once  strong  town  of  Teananstayae,  named  by  the  missionaries  St.  Joseph's, 
when  Father  Anthony  Daniel,  beloved  of  all,  fresh  from  his  retreat  at  St. 
Mary's,  and  full  of  desire  for  the  glory  of  heaven,  was  urging  his  flock  to 
prepare  for  it  in  joy,  a  cry  arose,  "  To  arms!  to  arms!"  which,  echoing 
through  the  crowded  chapel,  filled  all  with  terror.  Mass  had  just  ended,  and 
Father  Daniel  hastens  to  the  palisade,  where  the  few  defenders  rallied.  There 
he  rouses  their  drooping  courage,  for  a  formidable  Iroquois  force  was  upon 
them.  Heaven  opens  to  the  faithful  Christian  who  dies  fighting  for  his 
home;  but  to  the  unbeliever,  vain  his  struggle:  temporal  pain  will  be  suc- 
ceeded by  endless  torment.  Few  and  quick  his  words.  Confessing  here, 
baptizing  there,  he  hurries  along  the  line.  Then  speeds  him  to  the  cabins. 
Crowds  gather  round  to  implore  the  baptism  they  had  long  refused.  Unable 
to  give  time  to  each,  he  baptizes  by  aspersion,  and  again  hurries  into  cabin 
after  cabin  to  shrive  the  sick  and  aged.  At  last  he  is  at  the  chapel  again. 
'Tis  full  to  the  door.  All  had  gathered  round  the  altar  for  protection  and 
defense,  losing  the  precious  moments.  "  Fly,  brethren,  fly !"  exclaimed  the 
devoted  missionary.  "Be  steadfast  till  your  latest  breath  in  the  Faith.  Here 
will  I  die;  here  must  I  stay  while  I  see  one  soul  to  gain  to  heaven;  and, 
dying  to  serve  you,  my  life  is  nothing."  Pronouncing  a  general  absolution, 
he  urged  their  flight  from  the  rear  of  the  chapel;  and  advancing  to  the  main 
door  issued  forth  and  closed  it  behind  him.  The  Iroquois  were  already  at 
hand;  but  at  the  sight  of  that  man  thus  fearlessly  advancing,  they  recoiled,  as 
though  some  deity  had  burst  upon  them.  But  the  next  moment  a  shower  of 
arrows  riddled  his  body.  Gashed,  and  rent,  and  torn,  his  apostolic  spirit 
never  left  him.  Daniel  stands  undismayed,  till  pierced  by  a  musket-ball,  he 
uttered  aloud  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  fell  dead,  as  he  had  often  wished,  bv 
that  shrine  he  had  reared  in  the  wilderness.  His  church,  soon  in  flames, 
became  his  funeral  pyre,  and  flung  in  there,  his  body  was  entirely  consumed. 

Thus,  in  the  midst  of  his  labors,  perished  Anthony  Daniel,  priest  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  unwearied  in  labor,  unbroken  in  toil,  patient  beyond  belief, 
gentle  amid  every  opposition,  charitable  with  the  charity  of  Christ,  support. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  287 

iiig  anil  emhiacing  all.  Around  him  fell  hundreds  of  his  Christians;  and 
thus  sank  in  blood  the  mission  of  St.  Joseph,  at  the  town  of  Teananstayae. 

The  news  of  this  disaster  spread  terror  through  the  land.  Town  after 
town  was  abandoned.  The  Ilurons  fled  to  the  islands  of  the  lake,  or  the 
cabins  of  the  Tionontates ;  and  the  missionaries  endeavored  in  vain  to  excite 
them  to  a  systematic  plan  of  defense.  During  the  winter  the  Iroquois  roamc^ 
through  the  country  undisturbed,  and  there  seemed  no  hope  of  ultimate 
victory  over  them.  The  Huron  nation,  after  having  had  its  day  of  glory  and 
renown,  was  destined  to  melt  away  before  the  conquering  Iroquois,  when 
sickness  had  enfeebled  its  towns.  Though  it  was  proud  and  stubborn  at  first, 
Providence  awaited  the  moment  of  its  conversion  before  the  final  blow  was 
struck.  "  The  Faith  had  now  made  the  conquest  of  almost  the  whole 
country,"  says  Bressani,  an  eye-witness  of  the  scenes  we  relate;  "it  was 
everywhere  publicly  professed;  and  not  merely  the  commom  people,  but 
even  the  chiefs  were  alike  its  children  and  its  protectors.  The  superstitious 
rites  that  at  first  were  more  frequent  than  the  day,  began  to  lose  credit  to 
such  a  degree,  that  a  heathen  at  Ossossane,  man  of  rank  though  he  was,  could 
find  none  to  perform  them  in  his  illness.  The  persecutions  raised  against  us 
had  now  ceased;  the  curses  he.iped  on  the  Faith  were  changed  into  blessings. 
We  might  say  that  they  were  now  ripe  for  he.iven ;  that  naught  was  wanting 
but  the  reaping-hook  of  death  to  lay  the  harvest  up  in  the  safe  garner-house 
of  Paradise.  This  was  our  sole  consolation  amid  the  general  desolation  of 
the  country." 

"  Misfortune  and  affliction  had  begun  with  the  Faith ;  they  grew  with 
its  growth;  and  when  religion  seemed  at  last  the  peaceful  mistress  of  the 
land,  'the  waters  of  tribulation  entered  in'  so  furiously,  that  the  stricken 
church  may  well  exclaim,  'A  tempest  has  overwhelmed  me.'  " 

Such  was  the  strange  picture  of  this  devoted  land.  Its  cup  was  not  yet 
full.  On  the  i6th  of  March,  1649,  at  daybreak,  an  army  of  a  thousand 
Iroquois  burst  on  the  town  of  St.  Ignatius,  and  all  were  soon  involved  in 
massacre.  Three  only  found  means  to  escape,  and,  half-naked,  reached  the 
neighboring  town  of  St.  Louis.  Sending  off  the  women  and  children,  the 
braves  prepared  to  defend  the  place.  Two  missionaries  were  actually  :n  the 
village — the  veteran  Father  Br(5beuf  and  Father  Gabriel  Lallemant.  These 
the  Christians  urged  to  lice,  as  it  was  not  their  calling  to  wield  sword  or 
musket;  but  Father  Brebeuf  told  them  that  in  such  a  crisis  there  was  some- 
thing more  necessary  than  (ire  and  steel;  it  was  to  have  recourse  to  God  .ind 


288  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

to  the  sacraments,  which  they  alone  could  administer.  Lallemant,  no  less 
resolute,  implored  of  Brebeuf  permission  to  remain  with  him,  and  obtained 
it.  Like  Daniel,  they,  too,  hurried  from  cabin  to  cabin  to  prepare  the  sick  and 
infirm  for  deatli,  and  then  at  the  palisades  roused  the  courage  of  the  small 
band  who  awaited  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  The  Iroquois  came  madly  on, 
but  a  well-directed  Huron  fire  drove  them  back  with  loss.  Yet  their  force 
was  too  overwhelming.  In  spite  of  losses  they  pressed  up  to  the  palisade,  and 
soon  efifecting  a  breach,  drove  back  the  few  Huron  braves,  and,  as  they 
advanced,  fired  the  town.  The  two  missionaries,  who  remained  to  soothe  the 
wounded  and  dying,  were  soon  in  the  hands  of  the  Iroquois,  who,  collecting 
their  captives,  began  their  torture  by  tearing  out  their  nails,  then  led  them  in 
haste  to  St.  Ignatius,  where  the  other  prisoners  and  booty  had  been  left.  The 
missionaries  and  their  companions  were  dragged  along  with  every  iniquity, 
and  entered  the  town  only  by  the  fearful  gauntlet — blows  raining  on  tlicm 
from  the  double  row  of  furious  savages  who  came  out  to  meet  them.  A 
scaffold  had  been  raised,  according  to  custom,  of  poles  lashed  together  and 
covered  witli  bark.  Here  they  were  exposed.  Brebeuf,  seeing  Christian 
captives  near  him,  excited  their  courage  by  reminding  them  of  the  glory  of 
heaven  now  opening  before  them.  There  were  among  the  Iroquois  some 
Hurons  now  naturalized,  and  of  old  enemies  of  the  missionaries.  At  these 
words  of  Brebeuf  they  began  the  torture.  Each  was  soon  bound  to  a  stake. 
The  hands  of  Brebeuf  were  cut  off;  while  Lallemant's  flesh  quivered  with  the 
awls  and  pointed  irons  thrust  into  every  part  of  his  body.  This  did  not 
suffice;  a  fire  kindled  near  soon  reddened  their  hatchets,  and  these  they  forced 
under  the  armpits  and  between  the  thighs  of  the  sufferers;  while  to  Brebeuf 
they  gave  a  collar  of  those  burning  weapons;  and  there  the  missionaries  stood 
with  those  glowing  irons  seething  and  consuming  to  their  very  vitals.  Amid 
the  din  rose  the  voice  of  the  old  Huron  missionary,  consoling  his  converts, 
denouncing  God's  judgments  on  the  unbelievers,  till  his  executioners  crushed 
his  mouth  with  a  stone,  cut  off  his  nose  and  lips,  and  thrust  a  brand  into  his 
mouth,  so  that  his  throat  and  tongue,  burned  and  swollen,  refused  their  office. 
They  had  left  Lallemant,  and  now  stopped  to  devise  some  new  plan  of 
torture.  Enemies  of  the  Faith,  they  had  seen  Brebeuf  in  the  very  breach 
baptizing  his  neophytes;  often,  too,  in  their  villages  had  the  apostate  Hurons 
seen  him  pour  the  vivifying  waters  on  the  head  of  the  dying.  An  infernal 
thought  seizes  them.     They  resolve  to  baptize  him.     While  the  rest  danced 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  289 

like  fiends  around  liim,  slicing  off  liis  llesh  to  devour  before  his  eye,  or 
cauterizing  the  wounds  with  stones  or  hatchets,  these  placed  a  cauldron  on 
the  fire. 

"Echon,"  cried  the  mockers,  calling  him  by  his  Huron  name,  "Echon, 
thou  hast  told  us  that  the  more  wc  suffer  here,  the  greater  will  be  our  crown 
in  heaven;  thank  us,  then,  for  we  are  laying  up  for  thee  a  priceless  one  in 
heaven." 

When  the  water  was  heated,  they  tore  off  his  scalp,  and  thrice,  in  derision 
of  baptism,  poured  the  water  over  his  head,  amid  the  loud  shout  of  the 
unbelievers.  The  eye  of  the  martyr  was  now  dim,  and  the  torturers  unable, 
from  first  to  last,  to  wring  from  his  lips  one  sigh  of  pain,  were  eager  to  close 
the  scene.  Hacking  off  his  feet,  they  clove  open  his  chest,  took  out  his  noble 
heart  and  devoured  it. 

Thus,  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  after  three  hours  of  frightful 
torture,  expired  Father  John  de  Brebcuf,  the  real  founder  of  the  mission,  a 
man  such  as  the  Catholic  Church  alone  could  produce — as  a  missionary  un- 
cqualed  for  his  zeal,  ability,  untiring  exertion,  and  steady  perseverance;  as  a 
servant  of  God,  one  whose  virtues  would  be  pronounced  heroic,  patient  in 
toil,  hardship,  suffering,  and  privation;  a  man  of  prayer,  of  deep  and  tender 
piety,  of  inflamed  love  for  God,  in  whom  and  for  whom  he  did  and  suffered 
all;  as  a  martyr,  one  of  the  most  glorious  in  our  annals  for  the  variety  and 
atrocity  of  his  torments. 

Father  John  de  Brebeuf,  whose  Huron  name  was  "Echon,"  was  born  at 
Bayeux,  in  Normandy,  on  the  S.jth  of  March,  1593,  of  a  notable  family,  the 
source  of  the  ancient  house  of  Arundel.  By  far  the  most  eminent  of  the  early 
missionaries  of  Canada,  his  life  is  the  history  and  the  glory  of  the  Huron  mis- 
sion. He  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus  at  Rouen  on  the  2r)th  of  October,  1617, 
and  was  ordaiiud  live  years  after.  From  the  outset  of  his  religious  life  he  was 
eminent  for  his  mortification,  austerities,  zeal,  and  devotedness.  He  first  ar- 
rived in  Canada  on  the  19th  of  June,  1625,  and  was  employed  among  the 
Hurons  from  Kl^fi  to  1G29,  from  1G3-1  to  1641,  and  from  1641  to  his  death  on 
the  16th  of  March,  1649. 

Father  Lallemant  had  cast  himself  at  the  feet  of  Brebeuf  to  kiss  his 
glorious  wounds:  Init  he  had  been  torn  away,  and  after  being  wrapped  in 
pieces  of  bark,  left  for  a  time.  When  his  superior  had  expired,  thev  applied 
fire  to  this  covering;  as  the  flame  curled  around  him.  Father  Lallemant,  whose 
delicate  frame,  unused  to  toil,  could  not  resist  the  pain,  raised  his  hands  oil 


2go  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Of  THE 

high  and  invoked  the  :iid  of  Heaven.  GratifK-d  l>y  this  expression  of  pain, 
his  tormentors  resolved  to  prolong  his  agony ;  and  through  the  long  night 
added  torture  to  torture  to  see  the  writhing  frame,  the  quivering  flesh  of  the 
young  priest.     He,  too,  underwent  the  cruel  mockery  of  baptism. 

"  We  baptize  thee,"  said  the  wretches,  "  that  thou  mayest  be  blessed  in 
heaven,  for  without  a  good  baptism  one  cannot  be  saved." 

He,  too,  saw  his  llcsh  devoured  before  his  eyes,  or  slashed  off  in  wanton 
cruelty,  for  it  displeased  their  taste;  every  inch  of  his  body,  from  head  to 
foot,  was  charred  and  burned;  his  very  eyes  were  put  out  by  tlie  hot  coals 
forced  into  them.  At  last  when  the  sun  had  risen  on  the  17th  of  March, 
1649,  they  closed  his  long  martyrdom  by  tomahawking  him,  and  k-ft  his 
body  a  black  mangled  mass. 

The  Iroquois  had  attempted  to  attack  St.  Mary's,  where  a  small  village 
had  now  gathered ;  hut  after  receiving  a  check  from  a  Huron  party  gave  up 
the  design,  and  at  last,  fearful  of  surprise,  retired  with  precipitation. 

This  was  the  death-blow  of  the  Huron  nation ;  fifteen  towns  were  now 
abandoned,  and  the  people  fled  in  every  direction.  The  tribe  at  St.  Michael's, 
with  the  survivors  of  that  called  by  the  missionaries  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
made  overtures  to  the  conquering  Iroquois,  and  emigrated  in  a  body  to  the  Sen- 
eca country,  where  we  shall  afterwards  find  them.  Others  fled  to  the  Eries  and 
Conestogues;  others  sought  a  refuge  on  the  islands  and  shores  of  Lake  Huron. 

In  this  disorder  the  missions  were  all  broken  up.  The  fathers,  assem- 
bling at  St.  Mary's,  resolved  to  follow  the  fugitives  who  remained  in  the 
country  and  share  their  fate.  The  small  body  thus  left  in  the  Huron 
country  clung  to  the  missionaries  as  their  only  hope;  the  infidels  promising 
conversion,  the  Christians  fidelity  till  death.  Some  of  the  missionaries  struck 
a  hundred  miles  into  the  forests  to  console  those  who  had  fled  amid  their 
trials ;  others  joined  Gamier  on  his  Petun  or  Tionontate  mission,  now  the 
most  important  of  all;  the  rest,  with  the  superior  and  the  French  in  the 
country,  endeavored  to  assemble  as  many  as  possible,  and  form  a  settlement 
on  an  island  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  St.  Joseph. 

Before  removing  to  it,  however,  they,  with  srreammg  eyes,  set  fire  to 
their  house  and  chapel  of  St.  Mary's  to  prevent  its  profanation,  and  beheld 
the  flames  in  one  hour  consume  the  work  of  nineteen  years.  The  new  set- 
tlement was  unfortunate;  unable  to  raise  crops  for  the  multitude  gathered 
there,  cooped  up  by  war-parties  of  the  enemy,  the  devoted  Hurons  soon  fell 
victims  to  famine  and  disease. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  29 1 

Father  Gamier  and  his  companions  labored  zealously  among  the  Tionon- 
tates,  but  calumny  and  persecution  arose,  and  in  one  place  their  death  was 
resolved  upon;  confident,  nevertheless,  in  the  protection  of  Heaven,  they 
fearlessly  continued  their  labors  during  the  summer.  Late  in  the  fall  the 
superior  at  St.  Joseph's  Island  heard  that  a  large  Iroquois  force  was  in  the 
field,  intended  to  operate  either  against  the  new  settlement  or  the  Tionon- 
tates.  Not  to  expose  too  many,  he  recalled  Father  Chabanel  from  Etharita, 
and  suggested  to  Father  Gamier,  the  other  missionary  there,  the  propriety  of 
retiring  for  a  time.  Father  Chabanel  left  on  the  5th  of  December,  and  on 
the  same  day  tiie  braves  of  Etharita,  tired  of  waiting  for  the  enemy,  set  out 
to  meet  them,  but  unfortunately  took  a  wrong  direction;  the  Iroquois  army 
passed  them  unseen,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  burst  on  the  defenseless  town. 
Fearful  of  being  surprised  in  their  work  by  the  returning  Petuns,  they  cut 
down  all  without  mercy  and  fired  the  place.  Garnier  was  everywhere 
exhorting,  consoling,  shriving,  baptizing;  wherever  a  wounded  Indian  lay,  he 
rushed  to  gather  his  dying  words;  wherever  a  sick  person  or  child  met  his 
eye,  he  hastened  to  confer  baptism.  While  thus,  regardless  of  danger,  he 
listened  only  to  the  call  of  dut\-,  he  fell  mortally  wounded  by  two  musket- 
balls;  and  the  Iroquois,  stripping  him  of  his  habit,  hurried  on.  Stunned  by 
the  pain,  he  lay  a  moment  there,  then  clasping  his  hands  in  prayer,  prepared 
to  die;  but  as  he  writhed  in  the  agony  of  death  he  beheld  a  wounded  Tion- 
ontate  some  paces  from  him.  That  sight  revived  him;  forgetful  of  his  own 
state,  he  remembered  only  that  he  was  a  priest,  and  rallying  all  his  strength 
by  two  efforts,  rises  to  his  feet  and  endeavors  to  walk,  but  after  a  few  stag- 
gering steps  falls  heavily  to  the  ground.  Still,  mindful  only  of  duty,  he 
dragged  himself  to  the  wounded  man,  and,  while  giving  him  the  last  abso- 
lution, fell  over  him  a  corpse:  another  Iroquois  had  driven  a  tomahawk  into 
his  skull. 

Fathers  Garreau  and  Grelon  hastened  from  the  other  town  and  buried, 
amid  the  ruins  of  their  church,  the  body  of  the  holy  missionary,  tiie  beloved 
of  the  natives,  who,  won  by  his  mild  and  gentle  manners,  entire  devotion  to 
them  and  their  good,  his  forgetfulness  of  all  that  was  not  connected  with  their 
salvation,  no  less  than  his  perfect  knowledge  of  their  language  and  manners, 
had  long  considered  him  less  a  Frenchman  than  an  Indian,  or  a  being  of 
another  world  sent  to  assume  the  form. 

His  companion.  Father  Chabanel,  did  not  escape.  He  h.ad  not  traveled 
far  w  hen  the  cries  from  St.  John's  alarmed  iiis  party  in  the  woods;  they  dis- 


292  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Of  THE 

persed,  and  Chabanel,  while  endeavoring  to  make  his  way  alone  to  St.  Mary's, 
was  killed  by  an  apostate  Huron  on  the  banks  of  a  river,  and  flung  into  the 
stream,  thus  ending  a  missionary  career  in  which  he  had  persevered  against 
the  utmost  repugnance,  and  the  total  want  of  all  consolation. 

After  this  disaster,  the  Tionontates  abandoned  their  other  town  and  fled 
with  the  Hurons,  with  whom  they  were  now  confounded. 

As  the  misery  on  St.  Joseph's  Isle  increased,  the  chiefs  resolved  to 
emigrate  to  the  lower  St.  Lawrence,  and  settle  under  the  walls  of  Quebec. 
To  this  the  missionaries  at  last  consented,  loth  as  they  were  to  leave  a  land  so 
endeared  to  them  by  the  labor  of  years,  bedewed  by  the  sweat  and  blood  of 
their  martyred  brethren.  The  pilgrims  set  out  in  June,  1650,  and  by  the  fol- 
lowing month  reached  the  capital  of  the  French  colony. 

The  Huron  nation  was  thus  entirely  dispersed,  and  the  mission  broken 
up.  Since  the  first  visit  of  Le  Caron  in  1615,  a  period  of  thirty-five  years, 
twenty-nine  missionaries  had  labored  in  the  peninsula  on  Lake  Huron. 
Seven  of  these  had  perished  by  the  hand  of  violence;  eleven  still  remained. 
These,  like  their  neophytes,  scattered ;  Bressani  went  to  Italy,  Le  Mercier  and 
Foncet  to  the  West  Indies,  and  Grelon  to  China;  but  distance  did  not  wean 
their  hearts  from  their  long-cherished  affection  to  the  mission  of  their  early 
years.  Words  could  not  describe  the  thrill  of  joj-  which  filled  the  heart  of 
Grelon,  when,  years  after,  traveling  through  the  plains  of  Tartary,  he  met  a 
Huron  woman  whom  he  had  known  on  the  shores  of  her  native  lake,  and 
who,  sold  from  tribe  to  tribe,  had  reached  the  interior  of  Asia.  There  on  the 
steppes  she  knelt,  and  in  that  tongue,  which  neither  had  heard  for  years,  the 
poor  Wyandot  confessed  once  more  to  her  aged  pastor. 

Under  the  United  States  the  scattered  Wyandots  were  long  afterwards 
deported  to  Indian  Territory,  and  are  now  the  smallest  but  wealthiest  of  all  the 
exiles.  Doubtless  the  remembrance  of  their  days  of  faith  is  still  fresh  in  their 
minds,  and  we  may  yet  see  a  Catholic  missionary  among  them,  a  successor  of 
Le  Caron  and  Br^beuf. 


Cbaptetr   XV. 


Jlmong  the  Five  nations. 


NATIVES  OF  Stalwart  Types.  —  Hurons  in  a  Death  Trap.  —  CRtiELTY  of 
Mohawk  Indians. — Torture  of  Father  Isaac  Jogues.  — A  Blood  Stained 
Journey. — Search  for  Father  Goupil's  Remains. — Voyage  to  Europe  and 
Rbturn.— An  Irishman  on  Manhattan  Island. — Joy  and  Gratitude. — Re- 
visiting Old  Scenes. — The  Mohawks  Crown  a  Martyr. 


%P5Nt 


m 


i 


the  history  of  the  Huron  mission  we  have  frequently  alluded  to 
the  Iroquois,  a  confederacy  of  five  nations  living  in  the  state  of 
■J/'    New  York,  the  irreconcilable  enemies  of  the  Hurons,  Algonquins^ 
'?.''•'(      ■"    ""'  French  in   Canada.     In  origin,  manners,  and   language  they 
"  resemble  the  VVyandots,  and  the  French  gave  both  these  tribes  at 

first  the  name  Hiroquais,  from  a  word  used  in  tlicir  speeches  and 
their  usual  cry.  The  Wyandots,  however,  soon  acquired  the  nickname  of 
Hurons,  and  the  term  Irociuois  was  applied  exclusively  to  the  Five  Nations. 
As  the  great  Champlain  joined  their  enemies  before  Quebec  was  fortified,  a 
war  ensued  which  occupies  the  whole  early  history  of  Canada — a  war  which 
destroyed  the  noblest  missions  of  the  north — a  war  which  seemed  to  close 
forever  the  way  of  the  gospel  to  the  cabins  of  the  Iroquois.  Sucii  was  not, 
however,  the  design  of  the  Almighty,  who  makes  luiman  passions  and  liuiiian 
errors  contribute,  unseen  and  unobserved,  to  the  glory  of  his  Church. 

The  apostolic  men  who  founded  the  Canada   mission   longed   to  attempt 

293 


294  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  conversion  of  these  Romans  of  the  west.  A  Recollect  father,  William 
Poulain,  was  a  prisoner  in  their  hands,  in  1621,  at  the  rapids  of  St.  Louis,  and 
consoled  himself  for  his  sufferings  by  instructing  in  the  faith  some  Iroquois 
prisoners,  in  hopes  of  one  day  visiting  their  cabins.  When  the  Jesuits  came 
to  the  aid  of  the  Recollects,  it  was  resolved  that  some  of  the  Huron  mis- 
sionaries should  cross  the  Niagara  and  found  a  mission  among  the  Senecas; 
but  the  death  of  Father  Viel  and  subsequent  misfortunes  in  the  colony  pre- 
vented the  realization  of  the  scheme.  At  the  conclusion  of  peace,  which 
Champlain  effected  in  1627,  Brother  Gervase  Mohier  was  about  to  set  out  for 
the  Mohawk  with  the  Canada  envo3's;  but  delaying  in  order  to  receive  his 
superior's  approval  of  his  mission,  escaped  the  cruel  death  which  overtook 
the  messengers  of  peace. 

From  that  time,  for  many  a  long  year,  an  Iroquois  mission  was  but  a 
dream;  and,  when  founded  at  last,  men  could  scarce  credit  its  reality. 

The  war  against  the  Indians  of  Canada,  waged  by  the  Iroquois,  had  not 
fallen  on  the  French;  but  at  a  restoration  of  some  French  captives  unharmed 
in  1640,  a  collision  took  place  which  infuriated  the  Mohawks,  and  led  to  a 
change  of  conduct.  Henceforward,  they  proclaimed,  French  and  Huron 
should  be  treated  alike,  and  war-bands  beset  all  the  water  communications  of 
the  north,  ready  to  pounce  on  either.  The  Huron  missionaries  were  thus 
reduced  to  a  state  of  great  want;  and,  in  1643,  Fathers  Jogues  and  R.iymbaut, 
who  h.id  just  planted  the  cross  in  Michigan,  set  out  for  Quebec,  conscious  of 
the  danger,  but  ready  to  meet  it.  The  party  of  Indians  with  whom  they 
went  reached  Quebec  in  safety;  Father  Jogues  executed  his  various  commis- 
sions, and  prepared  to  return  with  the  Hurons.  After  commending  them- 
selves to  God  the  party  set  out,  but  two  days  after  discovered  a  trail  on  the 
shore.  Uncertain  whether  it  was  that  of  a  hostile  party  or  not,  the  Huron 
chief,  Ahasistari,  too  confident  in  his  numbers,  ordered  the  convoy  on  into 
the  very  midst  of  an  ambuscade.  A  volley  from  tlie  nearest  shore  riddled 
their  canoes  and  disclosed  the  danger.  The  Hurons  fled  to  the  shore.  The 
missionary,  after  stooping  to  baptize  a  catechumen  in  his  canoe,  followed  the 
fugitives,  but  stood  alone  on  the  bank,  while  in  the  distance  he  heard  the 
noise  of  the  pursuers  and  pursued.  He  might  have  fled ;  but  could  he,  a 
minister  of  Christ,  abandon  the  wounded  and  dying.''  Looking  around,  he 
saw  some  captives  in  charge  of  a  few  Mohawks,  and,  joining  them, 
surrendered  himself.  Ahasistari,  with  Couture,  a  Frenchman,  drew  off 
a  part  in    safety;  hut    not    finding    the    missionary,   returned    to   share    his 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  295 

fate,    as    the    chief    had    sworn    to   do;  such  was    the  devotion  devotedness 
could  inspire. 

When  the  pursuit  was  over,  the  Mohawk  warriors  gradually  returned 
and  gathered  around  their  prisoners.  Besides  Father  Jogues  and  the  brave 
Couture,  there  was  Rend  Goupil,  a  novice  of  the  mission,  a  man  who  had 
given  himself  to  the  service  of  the  fathers  without  any  hope  of  earthly 
reward.  Ahasistari  and  nineteen  other  Hurons  completed  the  group.  Father 
Jogues  was  a  native  of  the  city  of  Orleans,  where  he  was  born  in  1607.  At 
the  early  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus;  and  having  laid  a 
solid  foundation  of  virtue,  and  gone  through  a  brilliant  course  of  study,  he 
was  ordained  priest  in  1636.  Lallemant,  his  preceptor,  had  often  repeated  to 
Jogues  the  prophetic  words,  "Brother,  you  will  die  in  Canada;"  and  on 
becoming  acquainted,  at  the  college  of  Rouen,  with  the  illustrious  Brdbeuf, 
who  had  just  returned  from  the  wilds  of  the  New  World,  the  young  Jesuit's 
desire  of  laboring  in  a  foreign  mission  received  a  fresh  impulse.  He  was 
soon  sent  to  Canada,  and  we  have  seen  him  in  the  previous  chapter  toiling 
for  five  years  among  the  Hurons  and  their  dusky  neighbors.  Father  Jogues 
penetrated  westward  and  preached  the  true  Faith  at  Sault  St.  Marie.  He 
was  the  first  to  plant  the  cross  on  the  soil  of  Michigan.  Let  us  now  return 
to  him  as  a  Mohawk  captive.  Torture  soon  began.  Couture  had  slain  a 
chief;  he  was  now  stripped,  beaten,  and  mangled;  and  Father  Jogues,  who 
consoled  him,  was  violently  attacked,  beaten  till  he  fell  senseless,  for  thev 
rushed  on  him  like  wolves,  and,  not  content  with  blows,  tore  out  his  nails  and 
gnawed  the  fingers  to  the  very  bone. 

Fearful  now  of  pursuit,  the  victors  started  for  their  village,  hurrying 
their  captives  through  the  wilderness,  all  covered  with  wounds,  suffering 
from  hunger,  heat,  and  the  cruelty  which  never  ceased  to  add  to  their  torments 
by  opening  their  wounds,  thrusting  awls  into  their  flesh,  plucking  the  beard 
or  hair.  While  sailing  through  Lake  Champlain  they  descried  another  party 
which  landed  on  an  island,  raised  a  scaffold,  and  formed  a  double  line,  through 
which  the  line  of  captives  closed  by  Jogues  was  forced  to  run,  while  blows 
were  showered  upon  them.  The  missionary  sank  under  the  clubs  and  iron 
rods.  "  God  alone,"  he  exclaims,  "  for  whose  love  and  glorj'  it  is  sweet  and 
glorious  to  suffer,  can  tell  what  cruelties  they  perpetratctl  on  me  then." 
Dragged  to  the  scaffold,  he  was  again  assailed,  bruised,  antl  burned;  his  clos- 
ing wounds  now  gajied  afresh,  most  of  his  remaining  nails  were  torn  out,  and 
his  hands  so  dislocated  that  they  never  recovered  their  natural  shape.     Amid 


296  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

all  these  trials  the  good  missionary  was  silent,  grieving  less  for  himself  than 
for  his  comrades  in  misfortune,  and  for  the  Huron  church,  whose  oldest  mem- 
bers were  now  on  their  way  to  death. 

Another  party,  which  met  them  on  Lake  Champlain,  treated  them  with 
similar  cruelty;  but  leaving  Lake  George  they  pursued  their  march  on  foot, 
and  on  the  14th  of  August  came  to  the  river  beyond  which  lay  the 
first  Mohawk  village,  The  shout  of  the  warriors  emerging  from  the  woods 
was  answered,  and  the  village  poured  out  to  receive  the  captives.  Again  the 
gauntlet  was  to  be  run,  and  through  "this  narrow  path  to  paradise," amid  the 
descending  clubs  and  rods  of  iron  they  sped  on  to  the  scaffold,  where  new 
cruelties  awaited  them.  The  missionary's  left  thumb  was  hacked  off  by  an 
Algonquin  slave;  Renin's  right  with  a  clam-shell.  None  of  the  party  escaped. 

At  night  they  were  removed  from  the  scaffold  and  placed  in  one  of  the 
houses,  each  stretched  on  his  back,  with  his  limbs  extended  and  his  ankles 
and  wrists  bound  fast  to  stakes  driven  into  the  earthen  floor.  The  children 
now  profited  by  the  example  of  their  parents,  and  amused  themselves  by 
placing  live  coals  and  red-hot  ashes  on  the  naked  bodies  of  the  prisoners,  who, 
bound  fast  and  covered  with  wounds  and  bruises,  which  made  every  move, 
ment  a  torture,  were  sometimes  unable  to  shake  them  off. 

The  captives  were  led  about  to  other  villages,  but  in  all  they  met  the 
same  barbarous  treatment.  In  one  of  these  the  scaffold  was  already  occupied 
by  Huron  prisoners,  several  of  whom  were  catechumens.  On  reaching  them 
Father  Jogues  made  instant  inquiries  as  to  their  religion.  He  heard  the  con- 
fessions of  the  Christians  and  prepared  the  others  for  the  Sacrament  of  Bap- 
tism. But  he  was  a  prisoner  himself,  and  alas!  could  not  procure  a  drop  of 
water.  At  that  moment,  however,  a  warrior  passed  by,  and  threw  him  a 
stalk  of  Indian  corn.  The  morning  dew  still  glistened  on  the  bright  green 
leaves.  The  Jesuit  used  the  pearly  drops  so  as  to  baptize  two,  and  shortly 
after,  while  crossing  a  stream,  he  conferred  the  Sacrament  on  another. 
Heaven  was  opened.  The  Mohawk  mission  had  commenced.  A  council  of 
chiefs  was  held,  and  it  was  decreed  that  all  should  die;  but  on  further  con- 
sideration the  French  were  reserved  as  prisoners,  and  but  three  of  the 
Hurons  were  sentenced  to  death.  Among  these  was  the  noble  Christian 
chief,  Ahasistari. 

Father  Jogues  lost  no  opportunity  to  baptize  dying  infants,  while  Goupil 
taught  children  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross.  On  one  occasion  he  made  the 
sign  on  the  forehead  of  a  child,  grandson  of  an  Indian   in  whose   lodge  they 


JOHN   BARKY,  O  )Mi\li  i  DO  RH    U.  S.  N 


o 

CO 


O 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  297 

lived.  The  superstition  of  the  old  savage  was  aroused;  some  Dutchmen  had 
told  him  that  the  sign  of  the  cross  came  from  the  devil  and  would  cause  mis- 
chief; he  thought  that  Goupil  was  bewitching  the  child;  and, resolving  to  rid 
himself  of  so  dangerous  a  guest,  applied  for  aid  to  two  young  braves. 

Jogues  and  Goupil,  clad  in  their  s([u:ilid  garb  of  tattered  skins,  were  soon 
after  walking  together  in  the  forest  that  adjoined  the  town,  consoling  them- 
selves with  prayer,  and  mutually  exhorting  each  other  to  suffer  patiently  for 
the  sake  of  Christ  and  tlis  Holy  Mother,  when,  as  they  were  returning, 
reciting  their  rosaries,  they  met  the  two  young  Indians,  and  read  in  tlieir 
sullen  visages  an  augury  of  ill. 

The  Indians  joined  them,  and  accompanied  them  to  the  entrance  of  the 
town,  where  one  of  the  two,  suddenly  drawing  a  hatchet  from  beneath  his 
blanket,  struck  it  into  the  head  of  Goupil,  who  fell,  murmuring  the  name  of 
Christ.  Jogues  dropped  on  his  knees,  and  bowing  his  head  in  prayer, 
awaited  the  blow,  when  the  murderer  ordered  him  to  get  up  and  go  home. 
He  obeyed,  but  not  until  he  had  given  absolution  to  his  still  breathing  friend, 
and  presently  saw  the  lifeless  body  dragged  through  the  town  amid  hootings 
and  rejoicings. 

Jogues  passed  a  night  of  anguish  and  desolation,  and  in  the  morning  set 
forth  in  search  of  Goupil's  remains.  "Where  are  you  going  so  fast.'" 
demanded  the  old  Indian,  his  master.  "  Do  you  not  see  those  fierce  young 
braves,  who  are  watching  to  kill  you?"  The  heroic  priest  persisted,  and  the 
old  man  asked  another  '^.■dian  to  go  with  him  as  a  protector. 

The  corpse  had  been  flung  into  a  neighboring  ravine,  at  the  bottom  of 
which  ran  a  torrent;  and  here,  with  the  Indian's  help,  Jogues  found  it, 
stripped  naked  and  gnawed  by  dogs.  He  dragged  it  into  the  water,  and 
covered  it  with  stones,  to  save  it  from  further  mutilation,  resolving  to  return 
alone  on  the  following  day  and  secretly  bury  it.  But  with  the  night  there 
came  a  storm ;  and  when,  in  the  gray  of  the  morning,  Jogues  descended  to 
the  brink  of  the  stream,  he  found  it  a  rolling,  turbid  Hood,  and  the  body  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen. 

Had  the  Indians  or  the  torrent  borne  it  away?  Jogues  waded  into  the 
cold  current;  it  was  the  ist  of  October;  he  sounded  it  with  his  feet  and  witli 
his  stick;  he  searchcti  the  rocks,  the  thicket,  the  forest,  but  all  in  v.ain.  Then, 
crouched  by  the  pitiless  stream,  he  mingled  his  tears  with  its  waters,  and,  in 
a  voice  broken  with  groans,  clianteil  the  service  of  the  dead. 

The  Indians,  it  proved,  and  not  thctlood,  had  robbed  him  of  the  remains 


2cj8  TRIALS  A\'D  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

of  his  friend.  E;irly  in  the  spring,  when  the  snows  were  melting  in  the 
woods,  he  w;is  told  hy  Mohawk  children  that  the  body  was  lying  where  it 
had  been  flung,  in  a  lonely  spot  lower  down  the  stream.  He  went  to  seek 
it ;  found  the  scattcrcil  bones  stripped  by  the  foxes  an<l  the  birds;  and,  tenderly 
gathering  them  up,  hid  them  in  a  hollow  tree,  hoping  that  a  da}'  might  coirle 
when  he  could  give  them  a  Christian  burial  in  consecrated  ground. 

After  the  murder  of  Goupil,  Father  Jogues'  life  hung  by  a  ban-.  lie 
lived  in  hourly  expectation  of  the  tomahawk,  and  would  have  welcomed  it  as 
a  boon.  By  signs  and  words  he  was  warned  that  his  hour  was  near;  but,  as 
he  never  shunned  his  fate,  it  fled  from  him,  and  each  day,  with  renewed 
astonishment,  he  found  himself  still  among  the  living. 

Now  solitary  amid  the  Mohawks,  the  man  of  God  devoted  his  leisure 
tr.omcnts  to  the  spiritual  comfort  of  the  Huron  captives,  who  were  scattered 
through  the  towns.  The  Mohav/k  dialect  differed  so  much  from  the  Huron, 
that  he  was  unable  to  address  himself  on  religious  topics  to  the  natives;  and, 
as  he  daily  expected  death,  he  deemed  it  useless  to  attempt  a  comparison  of 
the  two  dialects.  Led  as  a  slave  to  the  hunting-grounds,  he  drew  on  himself 
ill  treatment  and  threats  of  death  by  his  firmness  in  refusing  to 'touch  food 
which  had  been  offered  to  the  demon  of  the  forest.  He  also  excited  the  ill- 
will  of  the  fierce  savages  by  his  constant  prayer  before  a  rude  cross  carved 
on  a  tree. 

But  he  bore  his  load  of  griefs  manfully;  and  found  solace  in  his  sorrows 
by  reflecting  that  he  alone,  in  that  vast  region,  adored  the  Creator  of  earth 
and  heaven.  Roaming  through  the  stately  forests  of  the  Mohawk  valley,  he 
wrote  the  name  of  Jesus  on  the  bark  of  trees,  engraved  crosses,  and  entered 
into  possession  of  these  countries  in  the  name  of  God — often  lifting  up  his 
voice  in  a  solitary  chant.  What  a  theme  for  the  pen,  what  a  subject  for  the 
pencil— this  living  martyr,  half-clad  in  shaggy  furs,  kneeling  on  the  snow 
among  the  icicled  rocks,  and  beneath  the  gloomy  pines,  bowing  in  adoration 
before  the  glorious  emblem  of  the  Faith,  in  which  was  his  only  hope  and  his 
only  consolation! 

As  the  time  passed,  however,  Father  Jogues  become  more  familiar  with 
the  Mohawk  language.  He  could  converse  a  little.  The  chiefs  began  to 
respect  him,  and  as  he  showed  no  disposition  to  escape,  he  was  allowed  a  large 
liberty.  Nor  was  he  slow  in  availing  himself  of  this  privilege.  He  visited 
other  towns,  and  when  he  passed,  God  passed  with  him.  He  ministered  to 
Christian   prisoners,  often  preparing  them  for  eternity  amid  the  vorv  flames. 


CATIIOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  29^ 

He  baptized  infants  in  danger  of  death ;  and  when  grace  touched  the  pagan 
heart,  he  was  consoled  by  a  conversion.  Thus  not  without  fruit  was  the  cap- 
tivity of  the  martyr-missionary. 

He  accomjjanied  liis  Indian  masters  on  several  trading  excursions  to  the 
Dutcii  settlement  of  Renssclaerswyck.  It  was  while  here  in  August,  1643, 
that  Jogucs  wrote  the  famous  letter  to  his  provincial,  in  which  he  recounts, 
in  elegant  Latin,  the  scenes  and  sufferings  that  had  marked  the  days  of  his 
captivity. 

But  scarcely  was  the  ink  dry  on  his  letter,  when  the  Jesuit  learned  that 
the  Indians  were  plotting  his  destruction.  Some  of  the  principal  Dutch 
inhabitants  pressed  him  to  escape,  and  kindly  offered  him  every  aid  in  their 
power.  The  priest,  however,  hesitated,  and  spent  a  night  in  prayer  before 
coming  to  any  decision.  He  concluded  that  it  was  the  will  of  God  to  embrace 
the  opportunity  given  him. 

But  the  heroic  missionary  passed  through  many  an  adventure  and  "  hair- 
breadth escape"  before  regaining  his  liberty.  On  one  occasion,  while  cross- 
ing a  fence,  he  was  severely  bitten  in  the  leg  by  a  fierce  dog.  He  was  stowed 
away  for  several  days  in  the  bottom  of  a  boat  in  the  river,  and  as  the  weather 
was  excessively  warm,  he  got  nearly  suffocated.  Furious  at  his  escape,  the 
savages  ransacked  the  settlement.  The  officers  of  the  boat  were  terrified, 
and  Jogues,  for  greater  safety,  was  placed  in  the  garret  of  an  old  house  in 
Fort  Orange.  He  was  visited  in  his  hiding-place  by  the  minister,  Megapo- 
lensis,  who,  to  his  honor  be  it  said,  treated  him  with  extreme  kindness. 

As  the  clamors  of  the  Indians  for  their  captive  redoubled,  and  each  inter- 
view grew  more  boisterous  than  the  last,  the  Dutch  friends  of  the  Jesuit 
determined  once  for  all  to  take  a  bold  stand. 

"  The  Frenchman  for  whom  you  search,"  exclaimed  a  brave  Hollander, 
"  is  under  my  protection,  and  I  shall  not  give  him  up."  He  then  reasoned 
with  the  noisy  savages,  antl  finished  by  saying:  "Here  is  money  for  the  ran- 
som of  your  prisoner,"  handing  them  the  sum  of  three  hundred  livres. 

This    manly,  generous   action    gave  Father  Jogues   his  freedom.      He 

boarded  a  small  vessel,  and  was  soon  carried  down  the  lordly  stream;  and 

thus  for  the  fust  time  a  Catholic  priest  passed  along — 

"  Where  Hudson's  w.-ive  o'er  silvery  sands 
Winds  through  ttie  liills  afar." 

We  part  from  the  Iroquois  mission  for  a  space  to  follow  the  fortunes  of 
its  indomitable  founder.     On  arriving   at   New    Amsterdam,   Father  Jogues 


300  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

was  received  with  much  honor  by  Governor  Kiefl,  with  whom  he  remainec] 
for  some  time.  This  was  in  the  fall  of  1643.  Manhattan  Island  was  then  a 
rude  place,  containing  about  five  hundred  inhabitants,  a  motley  crowd  of 
many  nationalities.  The  governor  informed  Father  Jogues  that  eighteen 
languages  were  spoken  in  their  midst.  The  good  Jesuit  found  just  two 
Catholics — a  young  Irishman  and  a  Portuguese  woman.  The  good,  warm- 
hearted son  of  Erin  had  the  honor  and  happiness  of  making  his  confession, 
and  receiving  absolution  from  the  martyr-missionary  of  the  fierce  Mohawks, 
the  first  priest  who  ever  set  foot  on  Manhattan  Island.  This  was  the  first 
time  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  was  administered  in  the  great  commercial 
metropolis  of  America,  which  is  now  the  see  of  an  Archbishop,  and  contains 
over  eighty  Catholic  churches. 

The  hospitable  Dutch  governor  gave  Father  Jogues  a  new  suit  of  clothes 
— something  he  was  painfully  in  need  of — and  procured  him  a  passage  in  the 
first  ship  bound  for  the  shores  of  beautiful  France.  A  storm  drove  the  ves- 
sel on  the  English  coast,  and  the  martyr  Jesuit  fell  into  the  hands  of  some 
thievish  wreckers — a  class  of  men  little  removed  in  barbarism  from  the  Mo- 
hawks that  ranged  the  forests  of  New  York.  He  was  stripped  of  everything 
in  his  possession.  Even  his  clothes  were  not  spared.  After  many  hardships, 
however,  he  found  his  way  across  the  English  Channel,  in  a  collier's  bark 
and  was  landed  on  the  shores  of  Brittany,  in  his  native  country,  on  Christmas 
Day,  1643. 

In  a  rude  sailor's  coat,  dragging  himself  along  with  pain,  aided  by  a  staff, 
the  venerable  priest  was  no  longer  recognized.  Hospitality  was  cordially  ex- 
tended to  him  in  a  peasant's  cot;  here  he  was  invited  to  share  the  simple 
morning  meal,  but  the  missionary's  only  thought  was  to  celebrate  dul}-  the 
festival  by  receiving  the  Blessed  Eucharist.  He  had  the  nearest  church 
pointed  out,  and  there  had  the  supreme  happiness  of  approaching  the  holy 
altar.  For  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  he  had  been  deprived  of  his  Bread  of  Life. 

The  good  Bretons  lent  him  a  hat  and  a  little  cloak  to  appear  more  de- 
cently in  church.  They  thought  him  to  be  one  of  those  unfortunate  children 
of  Catholic  Erin,  whom  persecution  frequently  drove  to  the  shores  of  France; 
but,  when  on  his  return  from  Mass,  his  charitable  hosts  saw  the  frightful  con- 
dition of  his  hands,  Father  Jogues  was  compelled  to  satisfy  their  pious  curiosity 
by  modestly  relating  his  history.  The  peasants  of  Leon  fell  at  his  feet,  over- 
come with  pity  and  admiration.  He  himself  relates  how  the  young  girls, 
moved  by  the  story  of  his  misfortunes,  gave  him   their   little    alms.     "  They 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  PN  AMERICA 


301 


came,"  he  says,  "  with  so  much  generosity  and  modesty  to  offer  me  two  or 
three  pence,  which  was  probably  all  their  treasure,  that  I  was  moved  to  tears." 

By  the  assistance  of  these  good  peasants.  Father  Jogues  was  enabled  to 
reach  the  city  of  Rennes,  which  contained  a  college  of  the  society.  It  was 
early  morning,  and  when  the  porter  came  to  the  door  to  answer  the  call,  he 
beheld  a  poor  and  almost  deformed  beggar.  The  stranger  humbly  asked  if 
he  could  see  the  Rector.  The  porter  hastily  answered  that  he  was  about  to 
say  Mass,  and  could  not  be  seen  at  that  hour.  "  But,"  persisted  the  stranger, 
''  tell  him  that  a  poor  man  from  Canada  would  gladly  speak  with  him." 
When  the  porter  whispered  the  message,  the  Father  Rector  was  putting  on 
his  vestments.  At  the  name  of  "Canada,"  which  was  then  the  great  mission- 
ary field  of  the  French  Jesuits,  the  superior  disrobed  and  proceeded  to  the 
parlor.  The  poor  and  ragged  traveler  handed  him  a  certificate  of  character 
from  Governor  Kieft.  Without  even  glancing  at  it,  the  Rector  hastily 
inquired : 

"  Are  you  from  Canada?" 

"Yes." 

"  Do  you  know  Father  Jogues.'" 

"  Very  well." 

"The  Iroquois  have  taken  him,"  continued  the  Rector;  "is  he  dead? 
Have  they  murdered  him?" 

"  No,"  answered  Jogues;  "he  is  alive  and  at  liberty,  and  I  am  he." 
And  as  he  uttered  these  words  he  fell  upon  his  knees,  asking  the  benediction 
of  his  superior. 

That  was  a  day  of  almost  boundless  joy  in  the  College  of  Rennes.  Nor 
was  there  less  rejoicing  among  his  fellow-religious  over  all  France.  He  was 
supposed  to  be  dead,  and  his  sudden  reappearance  among  them  was  some- 
thing extraordinary. 

He  reposed  for  a  few  days  at  the  College  at  Rennes,  and  then  pushed  on 
towards  Paris,  to  place  himself  again  at  the  disposal  of  his  superior,  humbly 
and  modestly  intimating  a  desire,  however,  to  be  sent  back  to  his  mission  in 
America.  His  fame  had  long  preceded  him,  and,  when  he  arrived  at  thecap- 
ital,  the  faithful  pressed  forward  in  crowds  to  venerate  him  and  kiss  his 
wounds.  The  pious  queen-mother  coveted  the  same  happiness,  and  he, 
whom  we  saw  so  recently  the  captive  and  slave  of  brutal  savages,  is  now  hon- 
t)rcd  at  the  court  of  the  first  capital  in  Christendom.  But  the  humility  of 
Father  Jogues  took  alarm  at  the  honors  paid  to  him.     Throwing  himself  ut 


302  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

his  superior's  feet,  he  entreated  that  he  might  be  sent  back  to  the  wilderness 
from  which  he  had  just  escaped.  Tlie  superior  consented;  but  an  obstacle 
here  presented  itself. 

So  great  were  the  injuries  inflicted  upon  his  hands  by  the  Mohawks  that 
he  was  canonically  distiualificd  from  offering  up  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the 
Mass.  Application  for  the  proper  dispensation  was  made  to  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  upon  a  statement  of  the  facts.  Innocent  XI  was  moved  by  the 
recital,  and,  with  an  inspired  energy,  exclaimed:  '■'■Indignum  esse  Christi 
martyrem,  Christi  non  bibere  sanguinem"  —  "  It  were  unjust  that  a  martyr 
of  Christ  should  not  drink  the  blood  of  Christ!"  Pronounced  by  the  Vicar 
of  Christ  on  earth  to  be  a  martyr,  though  living,  he  now  goes  to  seek  a 
double  martyrdom  in  death.  In  the  spring  he  started  for  Rochelle,  and 
Father  Ducreux,  the  historian  of  Canada,  sought  the  honor  of  accompanying 
him  thither. 

He  embarked  from  Rochelle  for  Canada,  where  he  arrived  on  the  i6thof 
May,  1644.  He  found  the  Iroquois  war  still  raging  with  unabated  fury,  and 
the  colony  of  New  France  reduced  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  When  his  brethren 
in  Canada  heard  and  saw  how  cruelly  Father  Jogues  had  been  treated  in  the 
Mohawk,  and  that  his  timely  flight  alone  had  saved  his  life,  they  felt  the 
saddest  apprehensions  about  the  fate  of  Father  Bressani,  who  had  also  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  Iroquois.  Finding  it  impossible  to  return  to  Lake 
Huron,  Father  Jogues  joined  Father  Buteux  in  the  duties  of  the  holy  min- 
istry at  the  new  town  of  Montreal,  to  which  its  founders  gave  the  name  of 
the  City  of  Mary,  in  consecrating  it  to  the  Mother  of  God.  It  was  during 
their  sojourn  together  that  the  superior  endeavored  to  draw  from  Father 
Jogues,  by  entreaty,  and  even  by  command,  the  circumstances  of  his  suffer- 
ings in  captivity ;  but  his  humility  and  modesty  were  so  great  that  it  was 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  anything  concerning  himself  could  be  drawn 
from  him.  In  this  spirit  he  avoided  all  the  honors  that  were  pressed  upon 
him.  After  his  return  to  Canada,  he  was  so  desirous  of  being  unknown  and 
unhonored  that  he  ceased  signing  his  name,  and  even  his  letters  which  he 
addressed  to  his  superior  after  his  return  to  Canada  are  without  signatures. 

Some  Mohawk  prisoners,  kindly  treated  by  the  governor  of  Canada 
and  released,  returned  to  their  country,  and  disposed  the  Mohawks  to  make 
peace.  A  solemn  deputation  of  their  chiefs  came  to  Three  Rivers,  and  were 
received  on  the  12th  of  July,  1645,  with  great  ceremony  and  pomp.  Father 
Jogues  was  present,  though  unseen  by  the  deputies;  so  was  Father  Bressani, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  303 

who,  having  passed  the  ordeal  of  a  most  cruel  captivity  among  the  Mohawks, 
!iad  been  ransomed  by  the  Dutch  of  New  York,  sent  to  France,  and  had  now, 
like  Father  Jogues,  returned  to  New  France  to  suffer  again.  When  all  was 
silent,  the  orator  of  the  deputies  arose,  and  opened  the  session  with  the  usual 
march  and  chants.  He  explained,  as  he  proceeded  to  deliver  the  prescn's, 
tiie  meaning  of  each.  Belt  after  belt  of  wampum  was  thrown  at  the  gov- 
ernor's feet,  until  at  last  he  held  forth  one  in  his  hand,  beautifully  decorated 
with  the  shellwork  of  the  Mohawk  Valley.  "  This,"  he  exclaimed,  ''  is  for 
the  two  black  gowns.  We  wished  to  bring  them  both  back;  but  we  have 
not  been  able  to  accomplish  our  design.  One  escaped  from  our  hands  in 
spite  of  us,  and  the  other  absolutely  desired  to  be  given  up  to  the  Dutch. 
We  yielded  to  his  desire.  We  regret  not  tlieir  being  free,  but  our  ignorance 
of  their  fate.  Perhaps  even  now  that  I  name  them  the}'  are  victims  of  cruel 
enemies  or  swallowed  up  in  the  waves.  The  Mohawk  never  intended  to  put 
them  to  death." 

The  French  had  little  faith  in  the  sincerity  of  the  Moiiawk,  yet  they 
wanted  peace.  The  past  was  forgiven,  the  missionaries  buried  the  remem- 
brance of  their  wrongs  with  the  hatchet  of  tiic  Mohawk,  and  peace  was 
concluded.  The  deputies  returned  to  their  castles  to  get  the  sachems  to 
ratify  the  pc.ice,  and  Father  Jogues  to  Montreal  to  prepare  himself  for  the 
terrible  ordeal  which  he  foresaw  a  Mohawk  mission  would  open  to  him. 
His  preparation  consisted  in  prayer,  meditations,  and  other  spiritual  exercises. 
The  peace  was  ratified  ;  the  Indians  asked  for  missionaries  ;  the  French 
resolved  to  open  a  mission  among  them,  and  Father  Jogues  was  selected  for 
the  perilous  enterprise.  When  he  received  the  letter  of  his  superior  inform- 
ing him  of  his  selection.  Father  Jogues  joyfully  accepted  the  appointment, 
and  prepared  at  once  to  depart.  His  letter  in  reply  to  the  superior  contains 
these  heroic  words:  "Yes,  father,  I  will  all  that  God  wills,  and  I  will  it  at  the 
peril  of  a  thousand  lives.  Oh!  how  I  should  regret  the  loss  of  so  glorious 
an  occasion,  when  it  depends  but  upon  me  that  some  souls  may  be  saved.  I 
hope  that  His  goodness,  which  did  not  forsake  me  in  the  hour  of  need,  will 
aid  me  yet.  He  and  I  are  able  yet  to  overcome  all  the  difficulties  which  can 
oppose  our  project." 

On  arriving  at  Three  Rivers,  he  ascertained  that  he  and  the  Sieur  Bour- 
don were  to  go  to  the  Mohawk  castle,  in  the  first  instance,  merely  a^ 
ambassadors,  to  make  sure  of  the  peace.  They  departed  on  this  dangerous 
embassy  on  the  i6th  of   M  w,  if>j6,  and  during  their  absence  public  praj'O'-s, 


304  TRIAlS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

offered  for  their  return,  testified  the  fears  felt  for  their  safety.  As  they  were 
about  to  start,  an  Algonquin  thus  addressed  Father  Jogues:  "  There  is  nothing 
more  repulsive  at  first  than  this  doctrine,  that  seems  to  annihilate  all  that  man 
holds  dearest,  and  as  your  long  gown  preaches  it  as  much  as  your  lips,  you 
would  do  better  to  go  at  first  in  a  short  one."  Thereupon  the  prudent  ambas- 
sador [)art(.'(i  for  the  time  with  the  habit  of  his  order,  ami  substituted  a 
more  diplomatic  costume. 

They  were  accompanied  by  four  Mohawks  and  two  Algonquins.  After 
ascending  the  Sorel,  and  gliding  through  the  beautiful  islands  of  Lake 
Champlain,  they  arrived  at  the  portage  leading  to  the  Lake  Andiataroct^  on 
the  29th  of  May,  which  was  ^le  eve  of  Corpus  Cliristi.  Ilcre  Father 
Jogues  paused,  and  named  the  lake  Saint  Sacrament;  but  by  a  less  Christian 
taste  that  beautiful  name,  given  in  honor  of  the  King  of  kings,  has  since 
yielded  to  one  given  in  honor  of  one  of  the  kings  of  earth.  They  suffered 
greatly  for  food  on  the  way,  but  obtained  a  supply  of  provisions  at  Ossarane,  a 
fishing  station  on  the  Hudson,  supposed  to  be  Saratoga.  Then,  gliding  down 
the  Hudson,  they  came  to  Fort  Orange,  where  Father  Jogues  again,  in  the 
most  earnest  and  sincere  terms,  expressed  his  deep  gratitude  to  his  liberators, 
the  Dutch,  whose  outlay  in  his  behalf  he  had  already  reimbursed  to  them  from 
Europe.  Not  satisfied  with  expressing  his  thanks.  Father  Jogues  endeavored 
to  bestow  upon  his  friend.  Dominie  Megapolensis,  the  greatest  of  possible 
returns — the  true  faith.  He  wrote  from  this  place  a  letter  to  the  minister,  in 
which  he  used  every  argument  that  his  well-stored  mind  or  the  unboundetl 
charity  of  his  heart  could  suggest  to  reclaim  him  to  the  bosom  of  that  ancient 
church  which  his  fathers  had  so  unfortunatel}'  left. 

After  a  short  repose  at  Albany,  they  proceeded  to  the  Mohawk,  and 
arrived  at  the  nearest  town  on  the  7th  of  June.  A  generally  assembly  of  the 
chiefs  was  called  to  ratify  the  peace,  and  crowds  came  from  all  sides;  some 
through  curiosity  to  see,  and  others  with  a  desire  to  honor  the  untiring  and 
self-sacrificing  Ondessonk.  Father  Jogues  made  a  speech  appropriate  to  the 
occasion  and  the  purposes  of  his  visits,  which  the  assembled  chiefs  heard  with 
great  enthusiasm;  presents  were  exchanged,  and  peace  was  finally  and  abso- 
lutely ratified.  The  Wolf  family,  in  particular,  being  that  in  which  Father 
Jogues  had  been  adopted,  exclaimed:  "  The  French  shall  always  find  among 
us  friendly  hearts  and  an  open  cabin,  and  thou,  Ondessonk,  shall  always  have 
a  mat  to  lie  on  and  a  fire  to  keep  thee  warm."  Father  Jogues  endeavored  to 
impress  favorably  the  representatives  of  other  tribes   who   were   there  by 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  305 

presents  ami  fiieiidly  words.  Then  remembering  his  sacred  character  as  a 
minister  of  God,  lie  visited  and  consoled  the  Huron  captives,  especially  the 
sick  and  dying;  he  heard  the  confessions  of  some,  and  baptized  several 
expiring  infants.  Before  departing  Father  Jogucs  desired  to  leave  behind  his 
box  containing  articles  most  necessary  for  the  mission,  which  he  was  soon  to 
retmii  and  commence  among  them ;  tlie  Mohawks,  however,  dreading  some 
evil  from  the  Iiox,  objected  at  first,  but  the  father  opened  it  and  showed  them 
all  it  contained,  and  finally,  as  he  supposed,  overcame  their  superstitious  fears, 
and  the  box  was  left  behind  among  them. 

The  ambassadors  and  their  suite  set  out  on  their  return,  on  the  i6th  of 
June,  bearing  their  baggage  on  their  backs.  They  also  constructed  tlieir  (^wn 
canoes  at  Lake  Superior,  and,  having  crossed  the  lake  in  safety,  arrived  at 
Three  Rivers,  after  a  passage  of  thirteen  days,  on  the  fea>it  of  SS.  Peter  and 
Paul,  to  the  infinite  joy  and  relief  of  all  their  friends. 

On  the  2Sth  day  of  September,  Father  Jogues  was  on  his  way  to  the 
Mohawk,  accompanied  by  Lalande,  a  young  Frencliman  from  Dieppe,  an 
Irocpiois  of  Huron  birth,  and  some  other  Hurons.  As  they  .advanced,  tidings 
of  war  on  the  part  of  the  Mohawks  became  more  frequent,  and  the  Indian 
escorts  began  to  desert.  They  passed  Lake  Champlain  in  safety,  and  had 
advanced  within  two  days'  journey  of  the  Mohawk,  when  a  war-party, 
marching  on  Fort  Richelieu,  came  upon  them.  The  savages  rushed  upon 
them,  stripped  Father  Jogues  and  Lalande  of  their  effects,  bound  them  as 
prisoners,  and  turning  back  led  them  to  the  village  of  Caughnawaga,  the  scene 
of  Father  Jogues'  first  captivity  and  sufferings.  Here  they  were  received 
with  a  shower  of  blows,  amid  loud  cries  for  their  heads,  that  they  might  be 
set  up  on  the  palisades. 

Towards  evening,  on  the  iSth  of  October,  some  of  the  savages  of  the 
Bear  family  came  and  invited  Father  Jogues  to  sup  in  their  cabin.  Scarcely 
had  the  shadow  of  the  black-gown  darkened  the  entrance  of  their  lodge, 
when  a  concealed  arm  struck  a  well-aimed  blow  with  the  murderous  toma- 
hawk, and  the  Christian  martyr  fell  lifeless  to  the  grountl.  The  generous 
Kiotsaeton,  who  had  just  arrived  as  a  deputy  of  a  council  called  to  decide  on 
his  case,  rushed  to  save  him,  but  the  bhide  had  done  its  work,  and  now  spent 
its  remaining  force  by  inflicting  a  deep  wound  in  the  arm  of  that  noble  chief. 
The  head  of  Father  Jogues  was  severed  from  his  body  and  raiseil  u|)on  the 
palisade.  The  next  day  the  faithful  Lalande  and  a  no  less  faithful  Huron, 
shared  the  same  fate. 


3o6  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMrilS  OF  THE 

Father  Jogiics  was  in  his  forlictli  year  when  he  received  the  fatal  stroke. 
W'licn  the  tidings  of  his  death  arrived,  every  tongue  in  Canada  and  in  I'raiiCL' 
was  zealous  in  the  recital  of  his  many  virtues  and  in  praise  of  his  glorious 
death.  His  zeal  for  the  Failli,  his  courage  in  danger,  his  humility,  his  love 
of  prayer  and  suffering,  his  devotion  to  the  cross,  were  conspicuous  among 
the  many  exalted  virtues  that  adorned  his  life  and  death.  While  his  brethren 
lamented  the  loss  the  missions  had  sustained,  they  envied  him  the  crown  he 
had  won.  "We  could  not,"  says  Father  Ragueneau,  "bring  ourselves  to  offer 
for  Father  Jogues  the  prayers  for  the  dead.  We  offered  up  the  adorable  sac- 
rifice, indeed,  but  it  was  in  thanksgiving  for  the  favors  which  he  had  received 
from  God.  The  laity  and  the  religious  houses  here  partook  our  sentiments 
as  to  his  happy  death,  and  more  are  found  to  invoke  his  memory  than  there 
are  to  pray  for  his  repose." 

Father  Isaac  Jogues  was  a  native  of  Orleans  in  France.  Born  on  the 
10th  of  January,  1G07,  of  a  highly  respectable  family  still  existing  there,  he 
v,as  eminent  in  childhood  for  piety,  and,  on  the  close  of  his  studies,  entered 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  at  Rouen,  in  October,  1G34.  Full  of  zeal  for  the  mis- 
sions, he  solicited  that  of  Ethiopia;  but  was  applied  to  teaching,  for  which 
he  possessed  rare  qualifications.  When  he  at  last  began  his  theological 
course,  he  again  solicited  a  foreign  mission,  and,  on  his  ordination  in  1C3G, 
was  sent  to  Canada.  After  a  short  stay  at  Miscou  he  proceeded  to  Quebec, 
and  thence  to  Huronia.  His  subsequent  career  on  the  mission  we  have 
narrated  in  the  foregoing  pages,  closing  with  the  account  of  his  heroic  recep- 
tion of  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  And  surely  in  the  long  list  of  the  martyrs 
for  the  faith  but  few  were  called  to  encounter  more  revolting  tortures  or  a 
more  cruel  taking  off;  few  seem  better  entitled  to  the  honors  of  the  altar  and 
the  devotion  of  the  faithful. 

"Founder  of  the  Mohawk  mission,"  says  Shea,  "his  sufferings,  rather 
than  his  labors,  give  him  a  place  in  its  annals.  His  letters  are  his  noblest 
monument;  in  them  we  behold  his  deep  and  tender  piety,  his  devotion  to  our 
Lord,  especially  in  the  Sacrament  of  His- love,  his  love  of  the  cross,  his  perfect 
confidence  in  the  all-directing  hand  of  the  Almighty,  his  implicit  obedience, 
angelic  purity  and  attachment  to  his  holy  mother,  the  Church.  After  his 
death  miracles  were  attributed  to  him  and  duly  attested;  and  the  missionaries, 
who,  at  a  later  date,  saw  a  fervent  church  arise  at  the  place  of  his  glorious 
death,  and  those  who  saw  it  produce  that  holy  virgin,  Catherine  Tegahkwita, 
ascribed  these  wonders  of  grace  only  to  his  blood." 


Cbaptcn  XVI. 


nii$$ion$  to  the  Iroquois. 


WAR  Begun  by  Mohawks. —Torture  of  Father  Poncet.  —  The  Mission  to 
Onondaga.— Return  to  Canada.  —  A  Pious  Indian  Chief. — The  Fore.st  as 
A  Church.  ^Arrivai,  oE  Father  Chaumonot.  —  New  York's  First  House 
OF  Worship.  —  Charges  Against  the  Missionaries.  —  A  Councii,  at  Onon- 
daga. —  Massacre  of  Hurons.  —  Death  of  F.\ther  Le  Moyne.  —  A  Hoi,y 
Indian  Maiden. 


N  the  death  of  Father  Jogiies  the  war  hroke  out  anew,  ami  t!ic 
Mohawk  and  his  kindred  clans,  almost  without  opposition,  devas- 
tated on  every  side.  Upper  Canada  was  a  desert,  and  along  the 
Ottawa  and  St.  Lawrence  the  dwindled,  fearful  bands  of  Aljjon- 
quins  showed  their  losses  in  the  struggle.  The  French  had  not 
been  spared,  their  missionaries  had  fallen  with  their  tawny  converts, 
and,  in  1653,  reverse  after  reverse  dimmed  the  glory  of  France  and  height- 
ened the  boldness  of  the  all-conquering  Iroquois.  Quebec  was  beleaguered; 
men  durst  not  go  forth  to  reap  the  yellow  harvest,  and  want  began  to  stare 
all  in  the  face.  A  poor  widow  mourned  o\er  the  prospect.  Touched  by  her 
desolate  situation.  Father  Joseph  Anthony  Poncet,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
Jesuits  of  the  time,  with  a  few  whom  his  devotcdness  drew  around  him,  went 
forth  to  gather  in  her  harvest.  The  ambushed  Iroquois  fell  upon  them; 
Poncet  and   one  companion  were  taken,  and,  though  hotly  pursued  by  his 

307 


3o8  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

flock,  were  hurried  off  to  tlic  Mohawk.  Treading  tlie  path  opened  by 
Jogues  and  Hressani,  he  twice  ran  the  jjauntlet,  was  torturctl  and  mangled, 
and  led  through  all  their  villages. 

The  Mohawks,  however,  were  weary  of  war,  and,  to  obtain  peace, 
restored  Father  Poncet;  yet  he  did  not  return  befoie  visiting  the  Dutch  at 
Fort  Orange  and  hearing  the  confessions  of  some  Catholics  there. 

The  Onondagas  had  already  asked  for  peace,  and  had  even  invited  mis- 
sionaries to  settle  in  their  land,  and  teach  them  as  the  Hurons  had  been  taught. 
Motives  of  policy,  indeed,  led  the  western  cantons  to  this  step,  for  they  were 
now  engaged  in  a  deadly  war  with  the  Eries,  the  last  western  tribe  of  their 
stock  which  had  favored  the  Ilurons. 

In  the  conference  which  took  place.  Father  Simon  Le  Moyne,  an  old' 
Huron  missionary,  who  on  the  death  of  Father  Jogues  had  laid  aside  his 
name  of  Wane  to  take  that  of  Ondessonk,  borne  by  the  murdered  Jesuit,  was 
the  interpreter  between  the  French  and  Iroquois.  The  latter  were  won  by 
his  manner,  and  both  Mohawk  and  Onondaga  envoys  were  earnest  in  their 
entreaties  to  be  allowed  to  bear  him  to  their  lodges.  The  Onondagas  were 
gratified ;  but  the  Mohawks  had  the  promise  of  a  speedy  visit. 

Thus  strangely  had  the  prosjsect  altered.  The  whole  country  seemed 
open  to  the  gospel.  Still  undeterred  by  failure,  the  Jesuits  were  eager  to 
rush  to  the  conversion  of  the  tribes  which  had  slaughtered  their  Huron 
neophytes,  and  massacred,  with  fiendish  hate,  their  holiest  missionaries.  Again 
an  Iroquois  mission  was  projected.  In  July,  1653,  Le  Moyne  set  out  from 
Quebec,  and,  toiling  beyond  Montreal,  first  passed  through  the  rapid  river  to 
the  lake  beyond,  opening  like  a  sea  across  the  Thousand  Isles.  Gliding 
through  these  islands,  whence  startled  moose  in  crowds  plunged  into  the 
stream,  and  coasting  along  the  southern  shore,  he  at  last  reached  the  mouth  of 
the  Oswego.  Here,  at  a  fishing  village,  his  mission  began;  captive  Hurons 
required  his  services,  and  at  every  step  familiar  faces  gladdened  to  behold  the 
black-gown,  who  had  so  often,  in  their  native  towns,  announced  the  word  of 
God.  Long  since  an  adopted  Indian,  Le  Moyne  entered  the  town  of  Onon- 
daga, in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  red-man,  beginning,  a  mile  before 
he  reached  it,  a  harangue,  in  which  he  enumerated  their  sachems  and  their 
chiefs,  .nnd  recounted  the  glories  of  each. 

Received  with  all  pomp,  he  prepared  for  the  solemn  reception,  where  he 
delivered  the  presents  of  the  French  governor,  exhorted  them  to  peace,  and, 
above  all,  to  receive  the  faith  of  which  he  was  the  envoy.     His  presents  were 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


309 


accepted,  and  the  sachems  of  Onondaga,  by  their  belts  of  wampum,  invited 
tlie  French  to  build  a  house  on  Lake  Ontario.  His  duties  as  ambassador 
ended,  his  duties  as  missionary  began.  Naught  now  remained  but  to  console 
the  captive  Hurons,  and  confer  on  them  the  happiness  they  had  so  long  cov- 
eted of  being  washed  in  the  waters  of  penance.  On  all  sides,  too,  he  found 
children  to  baptize,  and  even  adults,  instructed  by  the  piety  of  the  Hurons,  of 
whom  no  less  than  a  thousand  were  here  captive.  Among  others,  he  bap- 
tized, on  the  eve  of  his  departure,  a  chief  setting  out  against  the  Eries.  In 
vain  the  prudent  missionary  sought  to  defer  his  baptism  to  his  next  visit. 

"Ah!  brother;"  exclaimed  the  chief,  "  if  I  have  the  faith,  can  I  not  be  a 
Christian  to-day?  Art  thou  master  of  death  to  prevent  its  striking  me  with- 
out thy  order?  Will  the  shafts  of  the  foe  be  blunted  for  me?  Must  I,  at 
every  step  in  battle,  dread  hell  rather  than  death?  Unless  thou  baptize  me  I 
shall  be  without  courage,  and  I  shall  not  dare  to  meet  the  blows.  Baptize 
me,  for  I  will  obey  thee,  and  give  thee  my  word  to  live  and  die  a  Christian." 

Such  an  entreaty  Le  Moyne  could  not  resist,  and  finding  the  chieftain 
already  possessed  of  the  truths  necessary  for  salvation,  he  instructed  him  more 
fully  and  baptized  him  by  the  name  of  John  Baptist,  and  the  next  day  each 
set  out  on  his  different  career. 

Stopping  in  the  half-dried  basin  of  Onondaga  Lake  to  taste  the  salt 
springs,  although  the  Indians  told  him  that  a  devil  lurked  in  it.  Father  Le 
Moyne  proceeded  to  Quebec,  which  he  reached  on  the  iith  of  September  to 
the  joy  of  the  pent-up  settlers,  who  now,  at  least,  believed  the  peace  to  be  real 
and  sincere.  Passing  from  one  extreme  to  the  other,  they  reveled  in 
gladness,  and  the  colonization  of  Onondaga  became  a  matter  of  daily 
discussion. 

Men  were  eager  to  be  the  pioneers  of  the  new  settlement,  and  anxiously 
awaited  the  next  embassy  from  Onondaga.  At  last,  in  the  following  sum- 
mer, John  Baptist  arrived  scathless  from  the  Erie  war,  bearing  liis  numerous 
presents,  to  ask  again  for  a  French  colony  and  aid  tn  the  Erie  war,  antl  offer 
the  black-gowns  the  most  delightful  site  in  their  canton  at  Onondaga,  prom- 
ising to  alleviate  the  harilships  of  the  way. 

No  doubt  now  remained.  The  missionaries  instantly  prepared.  Father 
Rcnci  Menard  and  Father  Claude  Dablon  had  been  chosen  by  the  superior  to 
be  the  first  to  sit  beneath  the  tree  of  peace  thus  planted,  and  "  which  towered 
so  high  above  all  the  trees  of  the  forest  that  nations  might  see  it  from  afar;" 
but   Menard  was   supplanted   by   the  enthusiastic   Chaumonot,  who,    ablest 


310  TKiAis  AXP  TRUwrriis  or  the 

linguist  of  his  body,  had  acted  as  interpreter;  and  attracted  theiittentiiwi  of  the 
governor  and  the  envoys. 

On  the  ic)th  of  Septemher  tlic  chiefs  embarked  wilii  the  missionaries, 
who  set  out  amid  much  anxiety,  for  men's  minds  were  not  without  their  mis- 
givings Scarce  out  of  sight  of  Quebec,  the  fatlicrs  began  their  mission  by 
instructing  the  wife  of  John  Baptist,  who  could  not  brook  dehiy.  Six  other 
Onondagas  and  two  Sonecas  joined  their  entreaties  to  liers,  and  so  their  morn- 
ing and  evening  prayers  were  chanted  on  the  majestic  river  by  the  voices  of 
nineteen  Christians,  in  fact  or  hope,  the  first  fruits  of  the  Iroquois.  Not  to 
be  deprived  of  pubMc  worship,  they  landed  on  Sundays,  raised  a  rustic  bower, 
and  beneath  it  the  missionary  of  the  wilderness,  with  wine  pressed  from  the 
wild  grape  of  our  woods,  offered  up  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass. 

By  the  29th  of  September — the  anniversary  of  Goupil's  death — the  mis- 
sionaries landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Oswego.  Here  Faiher  Chaumonot  was 
at  once  surrounded  by  the  Ilurons  among  whom  he  had  so  long  labored.  A 
cry  of  joy  burst  from  every  lip  as  they  shouted  the  name  of  their  beloved 
Echon.  They  fell  upon  his  neck,  they  clasped  his  knees,  they  begged  him 
to  visit  their  huts.  While  awaiting  their  public  reception,  the  missionaries 
assembled  the  Christians,  organized  morning  and  evening  pravcr,  spending 
the  night  in  the  confessional,  to  satisfy  those  who  thronged  around  them  with 
all  the  eagerness  which  a  Catholic  feels  after  being  long  deprived  of  the 
greatest  gift  accorded  to  the  church.  A  dejected  group  stood  near — pagans 
who,  in  their  day  of  prosperity,  had  spurned  the  black-gown  and  his  teachings, 
but  now,  bowed  by  the  heavy  hand  of  misfortune,  came  to  solicit  instruction. 

After  a  short  delay,  the  missionaries  proceeded  to  Onondaga.  Three 
miles  from  the  town  they  were  met  and  addressed  by  Gonaterezon,  one  of 
the  principal  orators;  another  invited  them  to  a  banquet,  aii<l,  in  a  long 
harangue,  exulted  that  the  sun  was  then  to  shine  in  its  fullness  on  the  land. 
All  these  Chaumonot  answered  in  Huron,  with  such  ease  and  elegance  that 
they  were  rapturous  in  their  applause.  Then,  witli  much  pomp,  they  were 
led  through  the  eager  crowd  to  the  lodge  prepared  for  them.  During  the 
night  sachems  came  to  present  belts  of  wampum,  and  Father  Chaumonot 
replied  to  them  on  behalf  of  the  governor-general  and  the  superior  of  the 
mission. 

On  Sunday  another  secret  meeting  was  held  to  treat  of  further  points, 
after  which  some  lingered  to  ask  about  France,  her  government  and  laws. 
Chaumonot  seized  the  opportunity,  and,  telling  what  she  once  had  been,  led 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  311 

them  to  the  history  of  the  Redemption.  Begged  to  continue,  he  so  beautifully 
narrated  tiie  creation  and  chief  events  in  sacred  history,  that  three  of  his 
iiearers  ran<jed  themselves  beside  him  as  catechumens. 

After  receiving  deputies  from  Oneida,  the  missionaries  were  conducted 
on  the  11th  of  November  by  a  vast  concourse  to  the  site  proposed  for  the 
mission-house.  For  beauty  and  convenience,  no  position  could  surpass  this 
beautiful  spot.  Lake  Ganentan,  the  Onondaga  of  our  day,  stretches  before  it, 
offering  an  outlet  to  the  lake  above,  while  the  rivers  that  swell  its  waters  come 
from  the  villages  of  the  allied  tribes.  A  stream  of  pure  water  and  another 
of  salt,  gushed  from  a  neighboring  knoll;  the  rising  ground  of  the  mission 
was  encircled  like  the  lake  by  woods,  which  in  that  season  seemed  to  rival 
the  vegetation  of  the  tropics,  and  abounded  in  game,  while  the  waters  teemed 
with  fish.  Here,  amid  the  joyous  crowd,  Chaumonot  began  the  mission  by 
baptizing  a  poor  Erie  captive,  whom  a  band  were  leading  to  the  stake. 

The  15th  of  November  v<as  appointed  for  the  solemn  reception  of  the 
envoys.  After  spending  the  eve  in  prayer  and  supplication,  the  Christian 
orator  entered  the  council  of  the  sachems  of  Onondaga.  Calling  their  atten- 
tion to  the  importance  of  the  council,  greater  than  Onondaga  had  ever  yet 
witnessed,  since  now  they  were  to  discuss,  not  peace  or  war,  not  things  of 
earth  or  time,  but  of  eternity,  he  unfolded  his  symbolic  presents,  and  explained 
them  in  the  Indian  style.  The  main  object  of  h:s  address  was  to  set  forth 
the  Christian  doctrine,  and  refute  the  slanders  and  calumnies  raised  against  it 
by  pagan  Wj  andots.  With  such  force  and  beauty  did  he  speak,  that  Dablon, 
his  companion,  enraptured,  seemed  to  hear  the  gospel  preached  to  that  whole 
benighted  land;  and  that  day  of  glory  was  in  his  eyes  a  triumph  for  the  Faith 
worth  all  the  toil  and  suffering  its  publication  had   hitherto  cost. 

On  the  following  day,  when  the  presents  were  returned,  a  new  scene  of 
interest  occurred.  The  air  resounded  with  the  chants  of  the  chiefs.  "Happy 
land!"  they  cried,  "  happy  land,  in  which  the  French  are  to  dwell!  "and 
amid  the  continual  response,  "  Glad  tidings!  glad  tidings! "  raised  on  every 
side,  the  missionaries  advanced  to  the  council  lodge.  There  all  was  silent, 
till  the  leader  of  the  chorus  broke  forth  — "I  sing  from  the  heart;  we  speak 
to  thee,  brother,  from  the  heart;  our  friendly  words  are  from  the  heart.  Hail, 
brother!  hapjiy  be  thy  coming,  gl  id  thy  voice!"  At  each  pause  all  joined 
in  the  chorus,  echoing  the  response — "Farewell  war!  farewell  the  hatchet! 
rill  now  we  have  been  mad;  now  we  shall  be  brothers!  " 

An  orator  then  aiose  and  delivered  tiie  presents  of  the  canton,  explaining 


311  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Of  THE 

Mie  purport  of  each,  and  offering  the  whole  tribe  as  candidates  for  enrollment 
Ml  the  church. 

"  Brother,"  he  exclaimed,  addressing  the  missionary — "  brother,  let  no  labor 
deter  llicc;  go,  even  if  it  weary  thcc,  go  on  to  instruct  us;  visit  our  cabins; 
forsake  us  not,  if  you  iliul  us  slow  in  understanding  the  prayer;  plant  it 
deeply  in  our  minds  and  hearts."  With  these  words  he  clasped  the  mis- 
sionary in  his  arms  to  show  the  sincerity  of  the  tribe. 

This  council  established  Christianity  at  Onondaga,  the  capital  of  the 
nation.  Henceforth  the  missionaries  might  freely  preach  it  by  the  great 
council-fire  of  the  allied  cantons;  and  even  then  Cayuga  and  Oneida,  by 
their  deputies,  invited  the  envoys  of  Christ  to  their  cantons. 

This  happy  result  was  due  in  no  small  degree  to  the  fervor  of  Le 
Moyne's  first  convert.  Inspired  by  his  zeal,  the  braves,  in  a  recent  battle, 
when  surrounded  by  the  Eries,  had  invoked  the  God  of  the  Christians, 
and  vowed  to  embrace  the  Faith  if  \ictory  were  granted.  The  tide  of  battle 
changed,  and  ihe  thousand  braves  of  Onondaga  drove  an  Erie  force  which 
quadrupled  theirs  from  a  strong  post  and  won  the  day.  Of  these  triumph- 
ant warriors  many  were  now  ready  to  fiilHU  their  vow,  though  some 
yielded  to  a  false  and  fatal  shame. 

Chaumonot's  first  address  had  drawn  several  women  to  desire  the 
faith;  braves  sought  instruction,  and  a  chapel  was  now  needed.  On  the  i8th 
of  November,  Fathers  Chaumonot  and  Dablon  raised  the  first  Catholic  chapel 
in  the  present  State  of  New  York.  As  soon  as  the  ground  was  pointed 
out,  the  chapel  rose  beneath  the  busy  hands  of  the  fervent  warriors, 
Rude  and  plain  was  this  first  shrine.  "  For  marbles  and  precious  stones," 
said  Dablon,  "we  had  but  bark;  but  the  path  to  heaven  is  as  open  through  a 
roof  of  bark  as  through  fretted  ceilings  of  silver  and  gold." 

The  chapel,  with  its  towering  cross,  was  a  constant  call  to  baptism,  and 
hither  mothers  eagerly  brought  their  new-born  babes.  Every  cabin  was 
open  to  the  missionaries.  Here  none  of  the  prejudices  of  Hurons 
appeared ;  and  as  in  several  cases  persons  in  danger  of  death  rose  in  health 
after  baptism,  it  was  looked  upon  as  a  blessing.  The  classes  for  instruction 
were  soon  organized.  The  children  of  the  Hurons,  already  trained  by  their 
parents  in  the  faith,  were  more  thoroughly  taught,  and  the  missionaries 
scarce  found  time  for  their  own  devotions.  Their  chapel  was  soon  too  small, 
and  on  Sundays  and  holidays  they  assembled  in  the  cabins  of  the  most  emi- 
nent men,  who  eagerly  sought  the  honor.     And  there  the    choir   of   Indian 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


313 


girls,  taught  b)  Dalilon,  chanted  to  his  instrumental  music  the  praises  of  God. 
Conversions  went  steadil}'  on  among  the  adults,  and  especially  among  the 
female  portion,  whose  attachment  to  the  faith  was  unbounded,  after  the  elder 
missionary  had,  in  a  solemn  assembly,  proclaimed  the  dignity  of  woman,  and 
the  high  prerogative  of  the  sacrament  of  matrimony. 

The  only  danger  to  which  the  missionaries  were  exposed  was  at  the  time 
of  a  Saturnalia,  which  took  place  every  March,  and  in  which,  in  obedience  to 
their  dreams,  the  Indians  committed  every  extravagance.  One  of  the  mis- 
sionaries had  well-nigh  fallen  a  victim  to  the  superstition,  as  one  brave 
dreamed  that  he  had  killed  a  Frenchman,  and  actually  rushed  to  their  cabin 
to  make  it  a  reality ;  but  the  fathers  had  prudently  withdrawn,  and  the 
maniac  was  appeased  by  a  European  dress,  on  which  he  wreaked  his  fury;  a 
strange  substitution,  yet  often  to  be  met  with  in  the  annals  of  the  time,  and 
apparently  connected  with  the  idea  of  sacrifice. 

This  period  of  prosperity  was  too  beautiful  to  last.  The  enemy  soon 
raised  up  calumnies.  Suspicions  about  baptism  began  to  gain  ground :  and 
though  Chaumonot,  as  the  representative  of  France,  had  adopted  the  Cayugas 
and  Oneidas  in  a  great  council,  yet  the  sachems  constantly  deferred  sending 
messengers  to  Quebec;  and  on  a  rumor  of  the  arrest  of  some  Onondagas  at 
that  city,  the  two  missionaries  were  summoned  to  a  council  and  accused  of 
treachery.  After  a  vain  endeavor  to  allay  their  suspicions,  the  fearless 
Chaumonot  offered  that  one  of  the  two  should  go  to  Quebec  to  brin^  a 
faithful  report  of  all,  leaving  the  other  a  hostage  in  their  hands.  Dablon, 
less  skilled  in  Indian  manners,  was  accordingly  chosen  to  go,  and  on  the  30th 
of  March,  after  a  four-weeks'  voyage,  stood  in  the  council-hall  of  Quebec, 
urging  an  immediate  colony  for  Onondaga. 

While  Chaumonot  and  Dablon  were  thus  evangelizing  Onondaga,  and 
opening  the  way  to  Oneida  and  Cayuga,  the  Mohawk  was  not  neo-lccted. 
That  tribe  diil  not  conceal  its  indignation  at  the  intercourse  between  the 
French  and  the  western  cantons.  They  were  at  last  appeased  by  a  promise  that 
Father  Le  Moyne  siiould  visit  them.  He  accordingly  set  out  from  Montreal 
on  the  16th  of  August,  1655,  with  two  Frenchmen  and  twelve  Mohawks,  and, 
after  a  month's  travel,  reached  the  first  village,  where  he  was  received  with 
every  mark  of  esteem.  In  his  address  to  the  sachems,  while  delivering  the 
presents,  he  announced  the  faith,  invoking  the  vengeance  of  Heaven  on  his 
head,  if  his  words  were  false. 

As  it  was  not  proposeil  to  foiuid  a  regular  mission  yet,  he  at  once  began 


314  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

his  labors  among  the  Huron  captives,  confessing  them  and  baptizing  their 
children.  He  then  made  a  hurried  visit  to  Fort  Orange  and  New  Amsterdam, 
and  at  the  latter  found  objects  for  his  ministry  in  the  crew  of  two  French 
vessels  then  in  port. 

Returning  to  the  Mohawk,  he  narrowly  escaped  death;  and  finding  the 
sachems  uneasy  at  his  presence,  set  out  in  November  for  Montreal,  and 
reached  it  after  great  danger. 

When  DaV)lon,  half-hostage,  half-envoy,  reached  Quebec,  all  his  enthu- 
siasm and  intrepidity  could  not  give  firmness  to  the  fluctuating  counsels  of 
the  colony.  A  settlement  at  Onondaga  had  been  promised ;  a  settlement  or 
a  war  seemed  inevitable;  yet  the  recent  treachery  of  the  Mohawk,  the  cruelty 
of  the  western  cantons  to  the  Hurons  and  their  missionaries,  the  conviction 
of  the  survivors  of  that  nation  that  the  present  invitation  was  part  of  a  deep- 
laid  scheme — all  deterred  the  French  from  undertaking  to  colonize  the  valley 
of  the  Oswego.  Yet  Canada  was  too  weak  to  bear  a  new  war,  and  a  few 
individuals  must  be  exposed  for  the  common  safety.  The  missionaries  were 
not  men  who  held  life  dear,  and  they  eagerly  offered  to  go.  Preparations 
were  accordingly  made;  a  number  of  French  colonists  were  equipped,  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Dupuis.  The  superior  of  the  mission.  Father 
Francis  le  Mercier,  laid  down  his  office,  without  awaiting  the  close  of  his 
term,  in  order  to  lead  the  new  band  of  missionaries  in  person,  and  with 
Fathers  Rene  Menard,  Claude  Dablon,  and  Brothers  Ambrose  Broar  and 
Joseph  Boursier,  prepared  to  establish  Christianity  amid  the  lakes  of  Western 
New  York. 

They  left  Quebec  on  the  17th  of  May,  1656.  Hurons,  Onondagas,  and 
Senecas  completed  the  party ;  for  the  Senecas  also  had  sent  for  missionaries. 
Though  attacked  by  the  jealous  Mohawks,  the  fleet  of  canoes  moved  joyfully 
up  the  St.  Lawrence  with  their  royal  banner  floating  in  the  breeze — the 
banner  of  the  King  of  kings,  bearing  his  august  name  sparkling  in  the  glad 
sunshine.  On  the  shore  stood  a  motley  group  of  spvage  and  civilized  friends, 
whose  anxious  looks  showed  their  sense  of  the  danger  of  the  party,  and 
whose  prayers  rose  to  Heaven  for  its  safety. 

The  early  part  of  the  voyage  was  pleasant.  Game  was  abundant;  the 
stately  moose  supplied  their  larder.  But  they  at  last  ran  out  of  provisions, 
and  many  fell  sick.  They  accordingly  pushed  on,  night  and  day,  and  on  the 
7th  of  July  the  main  body  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Oswego.  After  an 
ineffectual  attempt  to  ascend   its  rapid   current,  they   were  cheered  by  the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  315 

approacn  of  a  canoe  loaded  with  corn  and  fish.  A  few  days  later  their  canoes, 
amid  the  thunders  of  artillery  echoing  over  the  waters  and  through  the 
woods  which  encircled  the  lake,  reached  the  spot  selected  for  their  abode. 

After  the  preliminary  reception,  and  a  few  days  of  repose,  the  missionaries 
blessed  the  ground,  and  Dupuis  and  his  men  began  the  fort  and  house  on  the 
eminence.  Father  Le  Mercier  meanwhile  proceeded  to  Onondaga,  about 
five  leagues  distant,  and  was  received  with  all  possible  honor.  From  every 
quarter  deputies  came  to  wait  upon  him  and  ask  that  his  mat  should  be  the 
council-hall.  The  treacherous  Mohawk  came  with  slanders,  but  was  promptly 
refuted;  and,  as  affairs  stood,  he  durst  not  show  hostility,  for  the  western 
cantons  were  ready  for  war,  to  avenge  the  death  of  a  Seneca  chief,  murdered 
by  the  Mohawks. 

All  were  interested  to  prevent  a  rupture.  Deputies  from  all  the  cantons 
came  in  to  sit  around  the  council-fire  of  Onondaga;  and  hither,  too,  came 
Chaumonot,  bearing  rich  presents  for  the  tribe,  as  words  from  the  French 
Huron";,  and  Algonquins.  Invoking  the  guidance  of  Heaven  by  chantino-  the 
"  Veni  Creator,"  he  unfolded  and  explained  the  presents  with  all  the  art  of 
an  Indian  orator.  "As  Onondaga,"  he  said,  "  was  the  principal  canton,  and 
her  sachem,  the  greatest  man  in  the  whole  country,  he,  the  father,  came  to 
him,  as  the  mouth  of  the  Governor  Geneva,  to  raise  the  ruined  cabin,  resus- 
citate the  dead,  maintain  what  was  still  standing,  and  defend  the  country 
against  the  disturbers  of  the  peace." 

Encouraged  by  the  applause  bestowed  on  his  eloquence  and  skill  in  tiie 
Onondaga,  which  he  now  spoke,  Chaumonot  raised  his  last  present,  that  of 
the  faith:  "  Not  for  traffic  do  we  ajjpear  in  j-our  country:  our  aim  is  much 
higher.  Keep  your  beaver,  if  you  like,  for  the  Dutch:  what  comes  to  our 
hands  shall  be  employed  for  your  service.  We  seek  not  perishable  things. 
For  the  faith  alone  have  we  left  our  land ;  for  the  faith  have  we  traversed 
the  ocean;  for  the  faith  have  we  left  the  great  ships  of  the  French  to  enter 
your  tiny  canoes;  for  the  faith  I  hold  in  my  hand  this  present,  and  open  m\- 
lips  to  summon  you  to  keep  your  word  given  at  Quebec.   You  have  solemnly 

promised  to  hearken  to  the  words  of  the  great  God :  they  are  in  my  mouth 

hear  them!"  Then,  running  over  the  principal  doctrines,  he  called  upon 
them  to  say  whether  they  were  not  just,  and  summoned  them  by  their  hope 
of  bliss  or  fear  of  chastisement  to  embrace  the  faith. 

Thrilling  was  the  effect  of  this  address.  Wonder  and  fear,  mino-led 
with  joy  and  hope,  swayed  the  minds  of  his  auditory,  and  tiie  missionary  that 


3l6  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

day  seemed  more  than  human.  He  was  indeed  borne  up  by  a  heavenly 
strength;  for  he  had  risen  from  a  sick-bed  to  deliver  his  address,  and  a  few 
days  after  was  surrounded  by  his  companions,  who,  in  dejection,  awaited  his 
last  moment.  He  was,  however,  spared.  Full  of  confidence  in  St.  Peter, 
he  invoked  the  aid  of  the  prince  of  the  apostles,  and  soon  rose  from  his  couch 
in  health,  being  destined,  in  fact,  to  outlive  all  those  around  him. 

This  council  ended,  all  was  activity.  By  August  a  chapel  was  erected 
in  Onondaga;  and  while  some  advanced  the  fort  and  residence  at  Ganentaa, 
the  missionaries  attended  the  chapel,  or  visited  the  cabins  to  instruct  and 
learn.  As  in  the  Huron  country  sickness  now  lirokc  out  among  the  Europeans, 
and  twenty  of  the  party  were  at  once  prostrated  by  fever;  but  by  the  kindly 
aid  of  the  natives  all  recovered. 

In  October,  Achiendas^  was  solemnly  adopted  by  the  head  sachem,  in 
the  presence  of  deputies  from  the  other  cantons;  and  though  a  dispute  seemed 
rising  between  the  Mohawks  and  Onondagas,  who  both  claimed  the  Hurons 
of  Isle  Orleans,  the  mission  was  to  all  appearance  firmly  established. 

The  work  of  conversions  now  began;  the  Faith  was  more  gladly  received 
by  the  Onondagas  than  it  had  been  by  the  Hurons.  The  easy  manners  of 
the  people  rendered  intercourse  less  difficult;  and  at  public  and  private  gath- 
erings the  fathers,  availing  themselves  of  the  custom  of  relating  old  tradi- 
tions,  recounted  the  events  of  sacred  history.  Obstacles,  however,  were  not 
wanting;  even  direct  charges  of  the  most  absurd  nature  were  brought 
against  the  missionaries — a  popular  one  being  that  the  French  baptized 
Indians  only  to  torment  them  more  at  ease  in  heaven;  and  on  one  occasion 
Father  Dablon  was  in  no  slight  danger,  being  suspected  of  having  carried  off 
a  box  full  of  souls. 

Prisoners  and  slaves  brought  from  no  less  than  seventeen  different 
nations,  were  the  first  to  enter  the  fold;  but  natives,  and  even  chiefs  and 
captains,  soon  followed,  moved  especially  by  the  influence  of  the  Christian 
Hurons,  who,  being  now  helots  in  Onondaga,  showed  the  power  of  religion 
in  their  virtues  and  patience.  Among  the  natives,  John  Baptist  Achiongeras, 
the  first  convert,  full  of  faith,  endeavored  to  convert  his  sister,  who  haughtily 
refused  to  listen  to  him.  Despairing  of  success,  he  began  a  novena  to  St. 
Mary  Magdalen;  and  on  the  second  day  his  sister's  heart  was  changed. 

When  the  faith  had  thus  acquired  a  footing  at  Onondaga,  the  band  of 
apostolic  men  spread  themselves  among  the  cantons.  In  the  latter  part  of 
August,  1656,  Fathers  Chaumonot  and  Menard  set  out  to  answer  the  inyita- 


CATHOLIC  CHVRCH  IN  AMERICA  317 

tions  of  the  Cayugas  and  Senecas.     The  former,  leaving  Menard  at  Cayuga, 
proceeded  to  the  populous  villages  of  the  Senecas. 

Menard,  who  was  welcomed  by  the  chief,  erected  a  chapel,  but  was 
coldly  received  by  the  tribe,  and  so  little  regarded  that  he  never  appeared 
without  being  attacked  by  the  cliildrtn.  To  the  day  of  his  death,  many 
years  after,  amid  the  forests  of  Upper  Michigan,  he  bore  the  scars  with 
which  these  tormentors  covered  his  face.  Yet  the  simple  guilelessness  of 
Father  Rend  soon  won  their  hearts;  and  when  once  he  had  converted  a  chief 
his  chapel  was  filled  with  admiring  and  listening  crowds.  On  its  wall  of 
mats  beside  the  altar,  hung  pictures  of  our  Lord  and  His  Blessed  Mother, 
and  to  explain  these  the  missionary  told  the  history  of  our  Redemption.  Now, 
too,  the  children  changed  and  became  his  helpers  in  the  mission,  leading  him  to 
the  cabins  of  the  sick  and  giving  him  the  names  of  all,  which  some  studiously 
concealed. 

The  women,  already  moved  by  the  virtues  of  the  Huron  females,  were 
the  first  converts;  they  brought  their  babes  to  receive  baptism;  they  followed 
his  instructions;  and  in  almost  every  cabin  could  be  found  an  Indian  mother 
teaching  her  wayward  child  to  lisp  a  prayer  to  Jesus  and  Mary. 

Menard,  meanwhile,  was  now  rapidly  acquiring  the  Cayuga  dialect 
under  the  instructions  of  an  excellent  family,  in  whose  cabin  he  was  often  a 
guest.  His  mission  was  advancing;  his  chapel  was  crowded  with  catechu- 
mens; but  he  baptized  few  adults,  and  seldom  but  in  case  of  danger.  The 
first  admitted  to  the  sacrament  was  an  old  man  on  his  death-bed;  the  second, 
once  a  prominent  chief,  now  a  cripple,  eaten  up  by  a  cancer,  whose  conver- 
sion seemed  due  to  the  martyred  Brebeuf  and  Lallemant.  At  their  capture 
he  had  been  struck  by  their  appearance,  and  bought  them  with  wampum,  yet 
was  unable  to  save  them;  for  his  belts  were  returned,  and  the  missionaries 
put  to  death.  His  conversion  gave  great  influence  to  religion,  for  his  author- 
ity always  stood  very  high  in  the  canton;  and,  indeed,  all  protection  was 
needed  by  Menard,  who  was  on  several  occasions  threatened  with  death. 

After  a  stay  of  two  months  he  was  recalled  to  Onondaga,  but  his  con- 
verts were  inconsolable,  and  he  was  soon  restored  to  their  entreaties,  and 
renewed  his  mission  with  greater  success  than  ever. 

Father  Chaumonot,  on  reaching  Gandagare,  the  cliicf  village  of  the 
Senecas,  was  received  with  pomp.  In  his  address  he  urged  them  to  embrace 
the  faith,  staking  his  own  life  and  that  of  all  his  associates  as  a  guarantee  of 
its  truth.     He  was  followed  from  the  council  by  a  chief,  who   begged   to  be 


3l8  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

instructed  without  delay — a  striking  proof  of  the  magic  power  which  Chau- 
monot's  eloquence  possessed,  for  an  Indian  must  be  deeply  moved  to  show 
his  feeling.  Conversions  followed;  but  the  most  important  was  that  of  the 
great  chief  of  the  tribe,  the  invalid  Annontenritaoui.  Visited,  instructed,  and 
baptized  by  Chaumonot,  his  faith  was  rewarded  by  the  sudden  cure  of  a  can- 
cer that  h;id  baffled  all  art. 

Besides  Gandagare,  there  was  another  village  which  had  a  deep  interest 
for  the  old  missionary  of  Huronia.  This  was  a  village  made  up  of  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  old  missions  of  St.  Michael's  and  St.  John's  in  the  Huron 
country,  when,  as  we  have  seen,  those  towns  submittcil  to  the  Senecas  in  the 
fatal  war.  Here  all  thronged  around  tlic  old  companion  of  Brdbeuf  and 
Daniel.  Not  one  pagan  now  held  back  from  baptism ;  not  one  Christian 
from  confession ;  not  one  was  unconverted  by  misfortune.  To  be  thus  able  to 
minister  to  these  poor  exiles,  was  in  itself  a  reward  for  the  toils  of  the  mission- 
ary ;  but  his  joy  was  dashed  by  the  loss  of  the  faithful  lay-brother,  Le  Moyne, 
who  had  followed  him  in  all  his  trials,  but  now  sank  in  death,  on  the  beautiful 
shores  of  Lake  Tlohero,  rejoicing  that  it  was  given  him  to  die  on  the  land  of 
the  Iroquois,  in  the  work  of  the  gospel. 

After  laying  the  foundations  of  a  mission  in  this  canton,  the  unwearied 
Father  Chaumonot  returned  to  Onondaga,  but  was  immediately  sent,  with 
Father  Menard,  to  Oneida,  to  open  friendly  relations  with  that  most  difficult 
of  the  tribes.  They  reached  it,  and  after  urging  the  importance  of  peace, 
announcing  the  law  of  Christ,  and  ministering  to  the  Huron  captives,  they 
returned  to  St.  Mary's. 

Onondaga  was,  therefore,  the  central,  or,  in  fact,  the  only  regular  mis- 
sion; but  it  was  now  established  on  a  firm  basis.  The  offices  of  the  Church 
were  celebrated,  the  sacraments  administered,  and  Christian  virtues  practiced, 
as  regularl}'  and  carefully  as  in  the  most  Catholic  parts  of  Europe.  In  a  short 
time  two  hundred  were  baptized,  among  them  five  chieftains,  the  corner- 
stones of  that  church;  one  of  whom,  in  a  public  assembly,  advocated  the 
faith  as  the  only  hope  of  saving  their  country  by  restoring  morality,  and, 
above  all,  fidelity  in  marriage,  and  in  their  relations  with  each  other — the 
want  of  which  had  been  more  destructive  than  armies. 

The  women  especially  listened  to  the  words  of  truth,  and  the  accounts 
of  the  missionaries  dwell  with  interest  on  the  noble  death  of  Magdalen 
Tiotonharason,  who  had  gone  to  Quebec  to  learn  the  prayer,  and  who 
remained  steadfast  to  her  last  sigh,  amid  the  seductions  and  persuations  of  her 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  319 

unbelieving  relatives.  The  bold  stand  of  the  missionaries  against  polygamy 
had  won  to  their  cause  all  the  women,  who  felt,  indeed,  the  crimes  to  which 
their  actual  state  often  gave  rise. 

The  church  was  composed  of  three  nations,  Onondagas,  Hurons,  and 
Neutrals,  all  bound  together  by  the  common  tie  of  faith,  which  made  master 
and  slave  kneel  down  side  by  side.  No  obstacle  was  raised  by  the  medicine- 
men, no  sachem  opposed  the  missionaries,  and  all  gloried  in  the  name  of 
Christian. 

When  tidings  of  this  success  reached  Quebec,  the  superiors  chose  new 
missionaries  to  proceed  to  so  promising  a  field.  A  party  of  Hurons  were 
already  at  Montreal,  about  to  emigrate  to  Onondaga.  Fathers  Paul 
Ragueneau  and  Joseph  Imbert  Duperon  soon  joined  them,  with  a  lay-brother 
and  some  French  colonists,  and  in  July,  1657,  they  set  out  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Oswego.  Soon  after  their  departure  a  deep-laid  plot  was  discovered. 
The  missionaries  and  other  Frenchmen  were  treated  coldl\-,  and  at  last  aban- 
doned. By  chance  they  found  an  old  cancJe,  and  kept  up  with  the  flotilla; 
but,  on  the  3d  of  August,  their  worst  fears  were  realized  by  a  massacre  of  the 
Hurons,  instigated  by  an  Onondaga  chief,  who,  provoked  at  the  resistance  made 
to  him  by  a  virtuous  Huron  girl,  killed  her,  and  urged  the  slaughter  of  all. 

Ragueneau  reproached  the  Onondagas  with  their  treachery;  but  they 
boldly  asserted  that,  in  slaughtering  the  Hurons,  they  merely  complied  with 
the  orders  of  the  governor  and  the  missionaries.  The  fathers  and  their  com- 
panions now  prepared  to  die,  for  they  heard  that  it  was  resolved  to  put  them 
to  death.  It  was  indeed  so,  but  considerations  of  policy  caused  the  chiefs  to 
suspend  the  blow,  and  the  fathers  reached  the  mission  of  St.  Mary's  in  safetv. 
There  they  found  that  all  was  changed;  hostility  was  openly  shown  by  those 
who  had  warmly  welcomed  them,  and  nothing  remained  but  to  endeavor 
to  escape.  With  much  difficult}  they  sent  to  Quebec  a  full  account  of 
their  position. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  Onondaga  mission.  That  of  the  Moh.-iwk  had 
made  less  progress.  That  tribe,  still  hostile,  had  attacked  the  Ottawas  near 
Montreal  and  killed  Father  Garreau,  then  burst  on  the  Hurons  of  Isle 
Orleans  and  swept  many  away  captive.  Yet,  in  the  summer  of  1656,  tiie 
fearless  Father  Le  Moyne  again  visited  their  strong  castles,  and  after 
reproaching  them  for  their  cruelty  and  want  of  faith,  devoted  himself  to  the 
care  of  the  Ilurons  of  the  Bear  family,  who  had,  after  the  fatal  day  on  Isle 
Orleans,   emigrated  to  the  Mohawk.     Like   a  good  father   he  consoled   the 


320  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

afflictcci,  instructed  tlic  ignorant,  heard  the  confessions  of  all  who  camn,  bap- 
tized the  children,  made  all  pray,  and  exerted  them  to  persevere  in  the  faith 
and  avoid  sin.  The  Mohawks  touched  bj-  the  piety  of  the  Ilurons,  especially 
of  one  whom  they  put  to  death,  now  came  to  listen  to  the  instructions  of  the 
missionary,  and  he  never  let  them  go  without  some  words  on  heaven  and 
hell,  the  power  of  an  all-seeing  and  all-knowing  God,  who  rewarded  the 
good  and  punished  the  wicked. 

Having  thus  completed  his  duties  as  envoy,  and  fullilled  his  promise  to 
the  Hurons  on  their  emigration,  Le  Moyne  returned  to  Quebec,  which  he 
reached  on  the  5th  of  November,  1656.  Soon  after  the  departure  of 
Ragueneau  and  his  companions  for  Onondaga  in  the  following  summer,  he, 
too,  set  out  once  more  for  the  Mohawk.  He  left  the  colony  on  the  26th  of 
August;  but,  on  arriving  at  the  Mohawk  castles,  found  himself  held  rather  as 
a  prisoner  or  hostage  than  as  a  friend,  for  there,  too,  an  evident  hostility  to 
the  French  prevailed 

Thus,  and  apparently  without  a  cause,  the  missionaries,  after  having  had 
access  to  every  canton,  after  having  announced  in  all  the  gospel  of  truth,  found 
themselves  destined  to  death  and  driven  from  the  field. 

The  councils  of  the  Iroquois  were  secret,  but  their  plans  were  known  in 
the  cantons,  and  some  of  the  braves  were  too  impatient  to  await  the  develop- 
ment of  their  sachems'  plot.  Prowling  around  the  French  settlements  they 
committed  several  murders.  Daillebout,  the  governor,  quick  and  far-seeing, 
resolved  to  have  hostages  in  his  hands,  and  suddenly  arrested  all  the  Iroquois 
within  the  limits  of  the  colony;  and,  on  the  7th  of  November,  dispatched  two 
Mohawks  with  letters  for  Le  Moync  and  the  Onondaga  missionaries.  The 
former  were  delivered,  the  latter  destroyed;  but  runners  soon  conveyed  to 
Onondaga  the  news  of  the  measures  of  Daillebout. 

Disconcerted  by  this  unexpected  step,  the  sachems  of  Onondaga  and 
Mohawk  deferred  the  blow.  Le  Moyne,  in  December,  sent  three  messengers 
with  a  letter  to  the  governor,  announcing  the  hostilities  of  the  Iroquois 
tribes  against  the  upper  and  lower  Algonquins.  Daillebout  firmly  demanded 
the  immediate  return  of  Le  Moyne,  and  the  surrender  of  some  murderers. 
Both  were  promised,  but  the  missionary  remained,  an  object  of  suspicion  and 
dislike,  unable  either  to  continue  his  labors  or  to  return,  and  beguiling  his 
half-captivity  by  an  occasional  visit  to  the  Dutch. 

At  Onondaga  it  was  different;  the  sachems  still  hoped  to  be  able  to  cut 
off  the  colony  in  their  midst  without  forfeiting   the  lives  of   their   hostages  at 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  321 

Quebec.  Foreseeing  a  Moody  catastrophe,  the  superior  had  recalled  all  the 
fathers,  and  Dupuis  all  his  colonists  within  the  fort  and  house  at  St.  Mary's, 
to  resist,  escape,  or  fall  together. 

Thus  the  winter  wore  slowly  away,  and  day  by  day  their  longing  eyes 
looked  in  vain  for  a  ray  of  hope;  spring  came,  and,  in  a  new  council  on  the 
Mohawk,  the  final  resolution  of  the  sachems  was  taken.  But  before  they 
could  carry  out  their  bloody  designs,  while  the  piles  were  actually  preparing 
for  their  execution,  the  missionaries  resolved  to  attempt  a  secret  flight,  impos- 
sible as  it  seemed  to  escape  unobserved  through  a  country  of  defiles,  where  a 
dozen  braves  could  destroy  them  all. 

Silently  and  rapidly,  in  the  residence  of  St.  Mary's,  skillful  hands  were 
constructing  two  swift,  light  boats,  each  large  enough  to  carry  fourteen  or 
fifteen  individuals  and  a  weight  of  a  thousand  pounds.  They  also  concealed 
in  the  house  their  canoes,  four  of  Algonquin,  five  of  Iroquois  make.  The 
great  difficulty  now  remained ;  this  was  to  embark  unseen,  for  the  slightest 
suspicion  of  their  intent  would  drav/  the  whole  force  of  the  canton  upon  them. 
At  last  a  favorable  moment  arrived.  A  young  Frenchman  was  adopted  into 
the  tribe,  and,  in  accordance  with  their  customs,  gave  a  banquet.  Availing 
himself  of  one  of  their  usages,  he  proclaimed  it  to  be  one  where  everything 
must  be  eaten  and  nothing  left,  immense  as  might  be  the  mass  of  eatables 
placed  before  the  guest.  To  this  feast  every  neighbor  was  invited;  the 
plenteous  board  groaned  beneath  the  weight  of  viands,  and  as  none  could 
refuse  his  portion,  the  overloaded  guests,  excited  by  the  dances  and  games 
which  the  French  kept  up  in  quick  succession,  or  lulled  by  the  music,  were 
insensible  to  all  but  the  festivities  before  them.  Amid  the  uproar  and  noise 
the  boats  were  silently  borne  to  the  water's  edge,  and  as  silently  loaded. 
Gradually  as  night  closed  in,  the  weary  guests  began  to  drop  aw.ay,  the  music 
aiul  dance  being  still  kept  up  by  the  French.  When  these  ceased,  all  the 
Onondagas  departed,  and  were  soon  after  buried  in  sleep.     Silence  reigned. 

The  whole  French  colony  hurried  to  their  flotilla  and  pushed  off,  about 
midnight,  on  the  20th  of  March,  165S.  The  water  of  the  lake  froze  around 
them  as  they  advanced,  and  fear  almost  froze  their  blood;  yet  on  they  went, 
all  night  long,  and  all  the  next  day;  hand  succeeded  hand  at  the  oar  and  the 
jiaddle,  till,  on  the  second  evening,  without  having  met  a  single  living  soul, 
tiiey  saw  Ontario  spread  its  sea-like  expanse  before  them.  Their  greatest 
danger  was  now  past,  and  the  distance  between  them  and  their  treacherous 
hosts  gave  them  time  to  breathe. 


322  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

When  the  Onondagas  had  slept  off  their  revel  they  strolled  from  their 
huts,  and,  as  they  rambled  toward  St.  Mary's  of  Ganentaa,  were  surprised  at 
the  silence  that  reigned  around  it.  Supposing  the  inmates  at  prayer,  or  in 
council,  they  awaited  the  result  calmly,  for  an  Indian  never  betrays  curiosity. 
Of  their  presence  there  they  had  no  doubt:  the  cocks  were  crowing,  the  dog 
answered  the  knock  at  the  door.  Yet,,  as  the  afternoon  waned  their  patience 
was  exliausted,  and,  scaling  the  side  of  the  house,  they  entered.  No  sound 
echoed  through  the  building  but  that  of  their  own  cautious  steps;  in  fright 
and  trouble  they  stole  through  and  opened  the  main  door.  The  sagest  chiefs 
enter;  from  garret  to  cellar,  every  spot  is  examined;  not  a  Frenchman  can  be 
found.  Fear  and  terror  sieze  them ;  gazing  at  each  other  in  silence  they  fled 
from  the  house.     No  trace  betrayed  the  flight  of  the  French. 

They,  meanwhile,  amid  a  thousand  dangers,  in  an  unknown  route, 
through  lake,  and  river,  and  rapid,  and  fall,  reached  Montreal,  after  seeing 
one  of  their  canoes  and  three  of  their  party  engulfed  in  the  St.  Lawrence.  In 
the  colony  they  were  received  as  men  from  beyond  the  grave. 

Of  the  missionaries  engaged  in  this  first  Iroquois  mission,  some  were 
eminent  in  other  missions.  Father  Claudius  Dablon  arrive-d  in  Canada  in  1655, 
and  made  his  first  essay  in  the  apostolate  at  Onondaga.  In  1661  he  accom- 
panied Druillettes  on  an  expedition  overland  to  Hudson's  Bay;  was  next  with 
Father  Marquette,  on  Lake  Superior,  in  1668,  and,  after  founding  Sault  St. 
Mary's,  became  Superior  of  all  the  missions  in  1670.  This  position  he  oc- 
cupied for  several  years,  certainly  as  late  as  1693,  and  he  was  still  alive  in  the 
following  year.  As  Superior  he  edited  the  last  published  Relations  (1671-2), 
and  compiled  others  in  manuscript,  and  a  narrative  of  Marquette's  voyage. 
Father  Francis  Le  Mercier  arrived  in  1635,  and  was  attached  to  the  Huron 
mission  till  its  ruin.  He  was  Superior  from  1653  to  1656  and  from  1665  to 
1670,  and  rendered  eminent  services  to  religion.  At  Quebec  he  was,  for  a 
time,  the  director  of  the  venerable  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation.  Leaving 
Canada,  he  was  sent  to  the  West  Indies,  and,  after  being  many  years  Superior, 
there  died  in  the  odor  of  sanctity.  As  Superior  in  Canada  he  published  six 
volumes  of  the  Relations.  Father  Paul  Ragueneau  was  born  at  Paris  in 
1605,  and  arrived  in  Canada  in  June,  1636.  Under  the  name  of  Aondechete 
he  labored  in  the  Huron  country  from  this  time,  with  a  brief  interruption,  to 
the  close  of  the  mission.  He  was  Superior  from  1650  to  1653,  and  returning 
to  France  in  1(166,  l^ecame  agent  of  the  Canada  mission,  and  died  at  Paris  on 
the  3d  of  September,  1680. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  323 

Thus  ended,  after  a  brief  existence,  the  mission  of  St.  Mary's  of  Gan. 
entaa,  in  the  Onondaga  country,  with  its  dependent  missions  among  the  Onei- 
das,  Caj'ugas,  and  Senecas.  It  had  been  founded  and  conducted  with  great 
toil,  and  at  great  expense;  it  was  now  crushed,  but  its  effect  was  not  lost; 
many  had  been  brought  to  the  faith,  and  more  convinced  of  the  truth  and 
beauty  of  Christianity,  who  for  motives  of  policy  still  held  back. 

Among  the  Mohawks,  Le  Moyne  was  in  no  less  danger  than  his  breth- 
ren had  been  at  Onondaga.  On  the  25th  of  March  he  wrote  from  the  Dutch 
settlement  a  letter  which  he  supposed  was  to  give  the  last  tidings  of  his  labors, 
but  soon  after  the  sachems,  remembering  their  promise,  appointed  envoys  to 
convey  him  to  Montreal,  and  an  embassy  brought  him  safely  to  his  country- 
men in  the  latter  part  of  May,  165S. 

Not  a  missionary  now  remained  in  the  territory  of  the  Iroquois,  and  the 
war  which  immediately  broke  out  precluded  for  a  time  any  hope  of  return. 

But  dark  as  the  cause  of  Christianity  seemed  in  the  cantons,  it  was  not 
without  its  hopes  of  a  new  and  brighter  day.  At  Onondaga  many  had  been 
won  to  the  side  of  Christianity,  and  on  these  the  future  depended  ;  but,  unfort- 
unately, none  seemed  possessed  of  sufficient  influence  to  effect  a  change  in  the 
councils  of  the  tribe.  Neither  Achiongeras,  nor  any  of  the  rest,  could  hope 
to  restore  the  mission,  having  in  all  probability  lost  grade  by  their  adherence 
to  a  foreign  creed.  At  this  moment  God  raised  up  one  destined  to  be  for 
years  a  protector,  and,  at  last,  an  humble  follower  of  the  Christian  religion. 
Garaconti(5,  "  the  sun  that  advances,"  was  a  nephew  of  the  Tododaho,  great 
sachem  of  the  league.  Himself  neither  sachem  nor  chief,  undistinguished  on 
the  war-path,  he  had,  by  his  eloquence,  ability,  and  political  wisdom,  acquired 
a  power  such  as  we  have  seen  in  our  own  days  exercised  by  the  orator  Red 
Jacket. 

During  Ihe  brief  existence  of  St.  Mary's  of  Ganentaa,  Garaconti»5  had 
examined  with  care  the  customs  of  the  colonists  and  the  doctrines  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  civilization  and  Christianity 
were  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  his  nation.  No  sign  had,  however, 
betrayed  this  favorable  opinion  to  the  missionaries:  he  never  sat  among  their 
disciples,  and  seemed  as  indifferent  a  hearer  as  any  around  him.  His  part, 
however,  was  taken.  After  the  (light  of  the  French,  he  was  openly  the  pro- 
tector  of  the  Christians,  and  the  earnest  advocate  of  peace.  In  spite  of  his 
endeavors  war  was  renewed  against  the  French  with  unwonted  ferocity.  The 
villages  of  Canada  were  in  flames,  the  whole  frontier  was  inundated  in  blood, 


324  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Quebec  was  blockaded,  the  best  men  in  the  colony  were  cut  tlown  in  sight  of 
the  forts  by  the  wily  foe.  Others  were  led  away  to  furnish  sport  by  their 
tortures  to  the  clans  in  their  village  homes,  or  to  linger  away  in  captivity. 
Garacontie  rescued  as  many  as  he  could  in  all  the  cantons  by  presents  and  by 
arguments.  These,  to  the  number  of  twenty-four,  he  assembled  at  Onon- 
daga, and  at  morning  and  night,  by  a  bell,  called  them  and  the  Hurons  to 
prayer.  On  Sundays  he  gave  feasts,  now  in  one  cabin,  now  in  another,  in 
order  to  enable  the  Christians  to  spend  the  day  in  prayer. 

Meanwhile,  in  council  and  in  private,  he  labored  to  inchne  his  tribe  to 
peace,  and  at  last  succeeded.  Tlie  Onondagas  resolved  to  send  an  embassy 
to  Quebec,  and  restore  some  of  the  captives  as  a  preliminary  of  peace. 

In  July,  1660,  the  beleagured  townsmen  of  Montreal  beheld  an  Iroquois 
canoe  shoot  out  above  the  town,  with  a  white  flag  fluttering  in  the  breeze. 
Men  crowded  in  anxiety  to  the  wall,  but  the  canoe  came  silently  on,  and  on 
reaching  the  bank  in  front  of  the  town-gate  the  warriors  stepped  ashore  as 
calmly  as  if  they  were  friendly  guests,  and,  followed  by  four  Frenchmen, 
advanced  into  the  town.  An  audience  was  soon  given.  There  the  spokes- 
man, the  Cayuga  Saonchiogwa,  the  warm  friend  of  Garacontie,  and  sharer 
of  his  thoughts,  broke  in  public  the  bonds  of  the  four  prisoners  and  promised 
the  freedom  of  the  rest,  assuring  the  French  of  the  friendly  disposition  of  the 
tribe.  Beginning  his  address,  he  explained  the  various  presents;  at  the  fifth 
he  said:  "This  is  to  draw  the  Frenchman  to  us,  that  he  maj'  return  to  his 
mat,  which  we  still  preserve  at  Ganentaa,  where  the  house  is  yet  standing 
that  he  had  when  he  dwelt  among  us.  His  fire  has  not  been  extinguished 
since  llis  departure;  and  his  fields,  which  we  have  tilled,  wait  but  his  hand  to 
gather  in  the  harvest;  he  will  make  peace  flourish  again  in  our  midst  by  his 
stay,  as  he  had  banished  all  the  evils  of  war.  And  to  cement  this  alliance  and 
unite  us  so  closely  together  that  the  demon,  jealous  of  our  happiness,  may  no 
longer  be  able  to  traverse  our  good  designs,  we  beg  that  the  holy  women 
(nuns)  may  come  to  see  us,  both  those  who  take  care  of  the  sick,  and  those 
that  instruct  the  young.  We  will  build  them  fine  cabins,  and  the  fairest  mats 
in  the  country  are  destined  for  them.  Let  them  not  fear  the  currents  or 
rapids — we  have  vanquished  them  all,  and  rendered  the  river  so  smooth  that 
they  could,  themselves,  without  pain  or  fear,  ply  the  light  paddle." 

Here  he  paused,  and  his  tone  of  compliment  gave  way  to  one  of  stern 
resolve.  Raising  his  last  belt,  he  exclaimed:  "A  black-gown  must  come 
with  me,  otherwise  no  peace;   and  on   his  coming  depend   the   lives    of  the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  325 

twenty  Frenchmen  at  Onondaga;"  and  with  these  words  he  placed  in  the 
governor's  hands  a  leaf  of  the  book  on  the  margin  of  which  the  captives  had 
written  their  names. 

The  counsels  of  the  French  were  divided.  It  seemed  blind  temerity  to 
yield  to  this  demand ;  but,  influenced  by  the  accounts  of  the  returned  captives, 
who  declared  that  the  women  were  unanimous  in  favor  of  Christianity,  that 
Garaconti6  was  entirely  on  their  side,  and  had  now  remained  only  to  prevent 
any  counter-movement  in  his  absence,  the  council  left  the  final  determination 
to  the  Viscount  d'Argenson,  who  asked  that  Father  Le  Moyne  should  meet 
the  wishes  of  the  Indians.  That  intrepid  missionary  for  the  fifth  time  girt 
himself  to  visit  the  homes  of  the  Iroquois.  It  was,  he  declared,  the  happiest 
day  of  his  life.  Now,  at  last,  he  seemed  to  go,  never  to  return,  for  his  steps 
would  be  in  a  land  still  recking  with  the  blood  of  the  French,  where  the  fires 
were  scarce  extinguished  around  which  the  Onondagas  had  danced  in  savage 
triumph  over  their  expiring  prisoner. 

He  accordingly  set  out  from  Montreal  on  the  21st  of  July,  1660,  a  host- 
age in  their  hands;  and  though  attacked  by  the  Oneidas,  and  with  difficulty 
rescued  from  their  tomahawks  and  scalping-knives,  reached  in  safety  the 
mouth  of  the  Oswego,  where,  notwithstanding  the  negotiations,  they  found  a 
war-party  on  its  way  to  attack  Montreal. 

Advancing  now  to  Onondaga,  they  were  met,  six  miles  from  the  town, 
by  Garaconti<5,  who  thus  came,  as  chieftain  never  came  before,  to  greet  the 
envoy  of  the  peace  of  which  he  had  been  the  projector.  Le  Moyne  entered 
the  castle  of  the  mountain  tribe  amid  the  joyful  shouts  of  the  people,  who 
offered  him  fruit,  and  then  ran  on  to  stop  and  look  back  at  the  long-expected 
Oiulessonk,  whose  fearless  manner  won  them  all.  With  admirable  tact,  Gar- 
aconti(5  led  the  missionary  first  to  the  lodges  of  the  sachems  and  chiefs  most 
adverse  to  peace,  and  then  conducted  him  to  his  own,  already  fitted  up  as  a 
chapel.  'Twas  rude,  indeed,  but  as  the  pious  missionary  adds,  "Our  Lord, 
who  deigns  to  veil  himself  under  the  forms  of  bread  and  wine,  will  not  dis- 
dain to  dwell  beneath  a  roof  of  bark;  and  the  woods  of  our  forests  are  not 
less  precious  in  his  eyes  than  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  sncc  where  He  is,  there 
is  paradise." 

On  the  I  3th  of  August,  Le  Moyne  was  solemnly  received  at  the  mission- 
house  by  the  sachems  of  Onondaga,  Cayuga,  and  Seneca,  and  on  their  rati- 
fying the  acts  of  the  embassy,  delivered  his  presents,  concluded  peace,  and 
urged  them  to  embrace  Christianity,  of  which  he  gave  a  summarv.     To  this 


326  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

they  replied  in  another  session;  and  then  the  speaker  announced  that  seven 
prisoners  from  Onondaga,  and  two  from  Cayuga,  should  he  immediately  sent 
with  Garaconti^,  and  that  the  rest  should  return  in  the  spring  with  Ondes- 
lonk.  Remonstrance  failing,  Le  Moyne  was  compelled  to  suhmit  to  this 
arrangement,  and  calmly  prepared  for  his  winter  mission  with  the  remaining 
captives.  Garaconti(5  set  out,  and  though  the  Onondaga  party  met  by  Le 
Moyne  had,  in  August,  ravaged  the  Island  of  Montreal,  and  slain,  among 
others,  the  estimable  Sulpitian,  James  Le  Maitre,  and  the  Mohawks,  in  Octo- 
ber, killed  another  of  the  same  congregation — Father  William  Vignal,  the 
oldest  secular  jiriest  in  the  colony — the  Onondaga  orator  was  well  received, 
restored  his  captives,  and  obtained  the  liberation  of  several  of  his  countrymen. 

Meanwhile  Father  Le  Moyne  was  busily  emplo3'ed  in  Western  New 
York.  In  his  poor  chapel,  adorned  with  a  cross  carried  off  from  Isle 
Orleans,  and  redeemed  by  Garaconti^,  French,  Huron,  and  Iroquois  assembled 
around  the  same  altar,  each  chanting  in  his  own  tongue  the  words  of  life  and 
trutii.  Ever  on  the  march,  village  after  village  received  his  missionary  visits, 
and  everywhere  his  presence  was  gladly  welcomed.  He  was  not,  however, 
free  from  danger.  Dreams  ruled  the  land,  and  their  fulfillment,  often  ridicu- 
lous, was  sometimes  criminal  and  dangerous  to  others.  One  brave,  dreaming 
that  he  wore  Ondessonk's  cassock,  burst  into  the  hut  and  bid  him  strip.  On 
another  occasion  all  the  sachems  were  required  to  check  another  who  burst 
in  to  destroy  the  crucifix  on  his  altar.  Father  Le  Moyne  was  there;  but  he 
bore  the  name  of  Jogues,  who  had  loved  the  cross  and  laid  down  his  life  for 
it  by  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk,  and  he  would  not  see  it  dishonored.  Spring- 
ing between  the  altar  and  the  madman,  he  bared  his  head  for  the  blow,  and 
would  have  fallen  had  not  the  murderer  been  caught  back  as  his  tomahawk 
glistened  in  the  air. 

In  this  instance  he  escaped.  However,  the  scenes  of  drunken  riot  hourly 
before  his  eyes  (for  Dutch  traders  flooded  the  cantons  with  intoxicating 
liquors),  made  him  accept  with  pleasure  an  invitation  to  visit  Cayuga,  then 
ravaged  by  an  epidemic.  Together  with  a  young  surgeon,  he  ministered  to 
the  sick,  and  saved  many.  A  month  was  too  short  for  him  to  confess  and 
console  the  Huron  women,  baptize  their  children,  and  instruct  them  all. 
Glorious  women!  their  faith  was  undimmed,  although  they  had  so  long  had 
no  chapel  but  their  master's  hut;  no  priest  but  their  conscience. 

Tearing  himself  at  last  from  these  fervent  Christians,  he  returned  to 
Onondaga,  and  found  Garaconti6  arrived,  more  friendly  than  ever   to  the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  327 

French  cause.  The  chieftain  soon  baffled  the  advocates  of  war,  who  had,  in 
his  absence,  even  plotted  Le  Moyne's  death,  and  he  now  prepared  a  party  to 
conduct  the  missionary  and  remaining  captives  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  The 
mission  of  Le  Moyne  was  now  drawing  to  a  close.  He  had  preached  to 
captives  of  ten  different  nations;  he  had,  during  the  prevalence  of  the  small- 
pox, baptized  two  hundred  infants,  most  of  whom  soon  died,  and  had  won 
several  adults  to  the  faith,  besides  ministering  to  the  old  Christians.  Among 
the  adults  he  was  often  met  with  old  calumnies.  Some,  however,  hearkened 
to  the  truth. 

An  Illinois  captive,  dying  of  a  horrible  ulcer,  visited  by  the  father,  asked 
him — "  What  must  I  do  to  go  to  the  heaven  of  which  you  speak?"  "  Believe." 
"Well,  I  believe."  "Pray."  "  Well,  I  will  pr.iy;  but  I  know  not  how. 
Come  and  teach  me,  for  I  cannot  go  to  thee."  He  was  regularly  in- 
structed. Faith  soon  changed  him.  No  murmur  or  complaint  left  his  lips. 
At  last,  fully  instructed,  he  solicited  and  received  the  sacrament  of  Baptism. 

During  his  stay  at  Onondaga,  Christians,  especially  women,  came  fre- 
quently from  other  cantons  under  various  pretexts,  and  thus  profited  by  his 
ministry.  Some  even,  by  their  piety  and  virtue,  won  their  mistresses,  and 
brought  them  to  the  missionary  to  receive  instruction. 

Father  Le  Moyne  had  not  set  out  from  Quebec  with  the  intention  of 
beginning  a  mission,  and  his  scanty  supply  of  wine,  he  foresaw,  would  soon 
be  exhausted.  To  be  able  to  say  Mass  daily,  he  despatched  an  Indiar  to 
Albany,  and  readily  obtained  of  the  friendly  Hollanders  a  bottle  of  wine 
for  the  use  of  the  altar. 

At  last  the  preparations  for  his  departure  were  completed,  and  all  were 
ready  to  depart.  But  one  was  destined  to  become  a  martyr  of  conjugal 
chastity.  Refusing  to  take  an  Indian  wife  at  the  command  of  his  master, 
he  was  savagely  butchered  by  the  cruel  Onondaga.  The  rest,  to  the 
number  of  eighteen,  now  set  out  with  Le  Moyne  and  an  escort.  On  the  last 
day  of  August  they  reached  Sault  St.  Louis,  and  were  soon  after  welcomed 
by  a  volley  from  the  walls  of  Montreal. 

This  ended  the  Iroquois  missions  of  Father  Simon  le  Moyne.  Tiiough 
named  once  more  to  his  old  post  he  never  again  visited  the  tribes  of  central 
New  York.  The  voice  of  Ondessonk  never  again  called  them  to  the  truth. 
Companion  of  Br(5beuf,  Jogues,  Garnier,  and  Daniel  on  the  Huron  mission 
as  early  as  163S,  he  had  ever  and  justly  been  dear  to  the  Indian  and  the  white 
man  for  his  Hrmness,  intrepidity,  and  zeal.      Successor  of   Jogues,  whose 


328  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

name  he  bore,  he  founded  the  Iroquois  missions  planned  by  the  former, 
visited  almost  every  village  in  the  cantons,  and  was  known  and  respected  in 
all.  Now,  worn  out  by  his  long  missionary  labors,  he  sank  under  the  weight 
of  years  and  toil;  and,  after  an  illness  of  nine  days,  expired  by  a  most  holy 
tlcath  at  the  Cape  de  la  Madeleine,  November  24,  1665,  having  just  com- 
pleted his  sixty-first  year.  His  death  was  mourned  as  a  public  loss  by  the 
French  colony,  and  the  Iroquois  sent  presents  to  wipe  away  the  tears  shed 
for  his  death. 

Nor  may  we  further  follow  the  fortunes  of  the  mission  to  the  Iroquois 
tribes,  which  was  plenteous  enough  in  vicissitude,  and  in  heroic  Christian 
sacrifice,  to  fill  several  volumes  such  as  this.  Father  Le  Moyne  was  suc- 
ceeded in  the  field  by  Fathers  Fremin  Bruyas,  I'ierron  de  Lamberville,  and 
others,  all  devoted  Jesuits,  who  in  turn  labored  among  the  several  tribes  of 
which  the  nation  was  composed.  Through  peace  and  war  some  of  the  mis- 
sion establishments  survived  down  to  the  American  Revolution  and  when 
this  broke  out,  the  Catholic  Iroquois  refused  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
colonists.  The  missionaries  took  no  part  in  the  war,  yet  experienced  harsh 
treatment  from  the  Americans  during  their  invasion  of  Canada. 

Since  the  close  of  the  American  War,  few  incidents  mark  the  history  of 
these  quiet  missions.  That  of  the  Presentation,  after  being  demoralized  by  a 
British  garrison  stationed  there,  was  settled  by  the  English  government,  first 
at  Johnstown,  then  at  Indian  Point,  Lisbon,  on  American  ground.  Here 
they  had  a  little  village  of  twenty-four  families,  which  was  finally  dispersed 
in  1S06  and  1S07,  and  the  people  retired  to  Onondaga  and  St.  Regis.  Those 
of  the  Caughnawaga,  Canasadaga,  and  St,  Regis  still  subsist,  and  have  of 
late  years  greatly  improved,  having  shared  in  the  general  religious  progress 
of  Canada,  whose  church,  so  suddenly  severed  from  France,  a  .d  harassed  by 
England,  maintained  for  some  years  a  doubtful  struggle. 

St.  Regis,  for  some  time  after  its  founder's  death,  was  deprived  of  a 
resident  missionary,  and  depended  on  visits  from  neighboring  priests;  but  in 
December,  17S5,  when  peace  once  more  left  all  in  quiet  on  the  St.  Lawrence, 
the  Rev.  Roderic  McDonnell,  a  zealous  Scotch  priest,  took  up  his  residence 
among  the  Indians  of  Aquasasne,  and  in  1791  erected  the  present  ma'sivc 
stone  chuich.  He  continued  iiis  labors,  undaunted  by  ill-liealth,  down  to  tlic 
period  of  his  death,  in  1S06. 

But  we  cannot  close  this  chronicle  of  the  Iroquois  missions  without  plac- 
ing before   the   reader   an  account  of  a   native  maiden  of  one  branch  of  that 


GENERAL  SHERMAN. 


GENERAL  ROSECRANS. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  32Q 

people,  whose  virtues   might  alone  justify  all   the  sacrifice  of  the   martyred 
Jesuits. 

The  sublime  iiillueace  of  Catholicity  on  the  life  of  the  Indian  is  nowhere 
better  illustrated  than  in  the  saintly  Catherine  Tcgakwitha.  She  is  the  Indian 
virgin  par  excellence.  While  the  great  chiefs  anil  lordly  sachems  of  her 
once  powerful  and  warlike  race  are  forgotten,  the  name  of  this  simple  and 
pure-souled  girl  is  held  in  honor  and  veneration.  Catherine  was  born  at 
Caughnawaga,  the  chief  town  of  the  Mohawks,  situated  on  the  Mohawk 
river,  in  1656,  about  ten  years  after  the  martyrdom  of  Father  Jogues  at  the 
same  place.  Her  father  was  a  heathen  Mohawk  chief;  her  mother,  a  Chris- 
tian Algonquin.  They  had  two  children — a  boy  and  a  girl.  The  Iroquois 
missions  had  not  yet  been  opened  by  the  Jesuits,  and  no  opportunity  had 
arisen  to  have  the  children  baptized,  when  the  ravages  of  the  small-pox 
carried  away  Catherine's  father,  mother,  and  little  brother,  leaving  her  an 
orphan  at  the  age  of  four  years.  She  was  taken  into  the  family  of  her  uncle, 
one  of  the  leading  chiefs  of  the  tribe. 

The  small-pox  having  weakened  her  eyes,  she  was  unable  to  bear  the 
glare  of  light,  and  hence  was  obliged  to  remain  whole  days  shut  up  in  the 
wigwam.  By  degrees  she  began  to  love  seclusion,  and  thus  her  modesty  and 
purity  were  partly  shielded  from  rude  contact  with  a  corrupt  and  savage 
society.  As  she  grew  older,  she  became  very  active  and  serviceable  to  her 
aunts.  She  ground  the  corn,  went  in  search  of  water,  and  carried  the  wood; 
for  such,  among  the  Iiulians,  were  the  common  employments  of  young  girls. 
The  rest  of  her  time  she  spent  in  the  manufacture  of  various  little  articles, 
for  which  she  possessed  an  extraordinary  skill.  Her  industry  guarded  her 
innocence.  Among  the  Indian  women,  idleness  was  the  source  of  an  infinite 
number  of  vices.  They  had  an  extceme  passion  for  gossiping  visits  and 
showing  themselves  in  public  places,  where  they  could  display  all  the  trinkets 
and  lluery — a  sort  of  vanity  not  by  any  means  confined  to  civilized  nations. 

In  1667,  Father  Fremin  and  two  other  Jesuits  visited  the  Mi)hawk  castles 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the  mission  among  that  tribe.  They  arrived 
at  a  time  when  the  people  were  plunged  into  all  sorts  of  social  riot  and  intem- 
perance. No  one  but  Catherine,  then  eleven  years  of  age,  was  in  a  fit  state 
to  receive  them.  She  lodged  the  missionaries,  and  with  singular  modesty 
and  sweetness  attended  to  all  their  wants.  The  dignified  and  courteous  man- 
ner of  tiie  Jesuits,  and  tiieir  rej^ular  habits  of  prayer^ — all  deeply  impressed 
this  simple  chiki  of  the  forest.     She  never  forgot  this  tirst  sight  of   the  nonle 


S30 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  TUB 


black-gowns.  She  even  intended  to  ask  for  baptism,  but  her  modest  reserve 
prevented  her,  and  in  a  few  days  the  priests  moved  away  to  other  villages. 

When  the  young  maiden  became  of  marriageable  age  many  trials  beset 
her  pathway.  Her  relations'  wishes  were  not  hers.  These  sensual  and  igno- 
rant savages  understood  not  the  lofty  motives  which  inclined  her  to  a  single 
life.  She  admired,  loved  puritv  long  before  she  understood  the  excellence 
of  that  virtue.  Hence  she  was  persecuted  as  an  obstinate  girl — treated  as  a 
slave.  But  arming  herself  with  a  sweet  patience — constant  as  it  was  admira- 
ble— this  simple  child,  amid  the  forests  of  New  York,  baffled  the  rude  efforts 
of  her  bitterest  foes.  Deaf  to  all  offers  of  marriage,  she  lived  by  the  work 
of  her  hands,  a  hazardous  experiment  for  an  Indian,  but  from  her  skill  and  in- 
dustry successful  in  her  case.  What  leisure  her  labor  permitted  she  spent  in 
the  chapel,  edifying  all  by  her  modesty,  recollectedness,  and  voluntary  pov- 
erty. Her  first  desire,  formed  as  she  sat  beneath  the  village  cross  with  The- 
resa Teguaiagenta,  gazing  upon  the  rapid  river  which  hurried  by  them,  was 
to  lead,  with  some  others,  a  life  like  that  of  the  nuns  at  Quebec;  but  this  being 
impracticable,  she  resolved  to  avoid  all  the  vanity  of  her  countrywomen,  and 
observe  the  utmost  modesty  in  dress  and  life.  For  poor  as  the  Indians  were, 
they  had  their  belles,  whose  .toilet  was  as  anxiously  cared  for  as  in  any 
polished  country.  A  manuscript  of  the  time  describes  the  Indian  maiden, 
with  her  well-oiled  and  neatly-parted  hair,  descending  in  a  long  plait  behind, 
while  a  fine  chemise  was  met  at  the  waist  by  a  neat  and  well-trimmed  petti- 
coat reaching  to  the  knee;  below  this  was  the  rich  leggin,  and  then  the  well- 
fitted  moccasin,  the  glory  of  an  Iroquois  belle.  The  neck  was  loaded  with 
beads,  while  the  crimson  blanket  enveloped  the  whole  form. 

Father  James  de  Laniberville,  ,S.  J.,  came  to  erect  a  mission  at  Caugh- 
nawaga,  in  1(575.  With  a  secret  joy  Catherine  attended  the  daily  prayers  and 
instructions.  Her  long-cherished  desire  of  becoming  a  Christian  was 
increased.  Still  she  feared  the  hostility  of  her  pagan  uncle,  in  whose  power 
she  entirely  was.  Even  her  timid  modesty  sealed  her  lips.  But  an  occasion 
to  open  her  heart  soon  presented  itself.  Some  days  after  Lamberville's 
arrival,  while  most  of  the  village  were  in  the  field  or  woods,  he  began  to 
visit  the  cabins  to  instruct  the  sick  and  such  as  remained.  A  wound  in  Cath- 
erine's foot  had  kept  her  at  home.  Joy  lighted  up  her  girlish  countenance 
as  the  good  priest  entered.  At  once  she  confided  to  him  her  desires,  the 
long-cherished  wish  of  her  heart  to  be  a  Christian,  the  opposition 
of    her    friends,    their    intention    to    compel    her    to    marrv,    to    which 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  33 1 

she  was  strongly  disinclined.  Delighted  as  the  missionary  was  to  have  dis- 
covered such  simplicity,  candor,  and  courage,  he  was  far  from  hastening  her 
baptism.  The  winter  was  spent  in  instructing  her,  and  in  examining  the 
character  she  had  till  then  borne.  Even  her  enemies  paid  their  tribute  of 
respect  to  her  really  beautiful  character.  With  a  holy  joy  she  received 
baptism  on  Easter  Sunday,  1676,  and  was  named  Catherine,  which  signifies 
pure.     She  was  then  in  her  twentieth  year. 

"  Faithful  to  her  conscience,"  says  Dr.  Shea,  "when  unaided  by  the  Gospel 
light,  Catherine,  as  may  easily  be  supposed,  now  gave  her  soul  entirelj'  to  God. 
Her  devotions,  her  austerities,  her  good  works,  were  at  once  determined  upon 
and  perseveringly  practiced  in  spite  of  the  obstacles  raised  by  her  kindred. 
Sundays  and  holidays  beheld  her  the  sport  of  their  hatred  and  cruelty;  refus- 
ing to  work  in  the  fields,  she  was  compelled  to  fast,  for  they  deprived  her  of 
food.  She  was  pointed  at  by  the  children  and  called  in  derision  'Me  Chris- 
tian^ A  furious  brave  once  dashed  into  the  cabin  to  tomahawk  her,  but 
awed  by  her  calm  and  ilignified  mien  as  she  knelt  to  receive  the  blow,  he 
slunk  back  as  from  a  superior  being."  Worse  than  all — more  painful  than 
all — black  calumny  raided  its  "viper-head"  against  her.  She  bore  the  dread- 
ful trial  with  sublime  meekness,  and  her  sweet  innocence  finally  lived  it  down. 
But  she  sought  peace,  and  that  inestimable  blessing  was  not  to  be  found  in 
the  society  of  the  corrupt  pagans  of  her  native  town.  Her  Christian  coun- 
trymen, it  will  be  remembered,  had  formed  a  village  on  the  banks  of  the 
lordly  St.  Lawrence,  near  the  rapid  above  Montreal.  For  this  she  sighed,  as 
for  the  promised  land.  Finally,  after  many  adventures  and  dangers — one  of 
which  was  a  miraculous  escape  from  the  tomahawk  of  her  furious  pagan 
uncle — she  reached  the  new  Caughnawaga,  in  Canada. 

Here,  as  she  grew  in  age,  she  advanced  in  grace  and  virtue.  Having 
seen  the  nuns  of  V'ille  Marie,  and  learned  their  mode  of  life,  she  desired  as 
far  as  possible  to  imitate  them,  and  consecrate  herself  to  God;  not  by  a 
simple  promise,  such  as  she  had  already  made,  but  by  a  vow  of  perpetual 
virginity. 

"Who  will  teach  me,"  she  woukl  exclaim,  "what  is  most  agreeable  to 
God,  that  I  may  do  it?"  Her  confessor  tried  her  a  long  time  before  he 
would  consent  to  let  her  pronounce  the  desired  vow,  which  she  liually 
made  on  the  Feast  of  the  Annunciation  with  great  fervor,  after  receiving 
holy  communion.  From  this  to  lier  precious  death  her  path  was  far  from 
being  one  of  roses.      liut  her  beautiful  life  was  drawing  to  a  close.     She  took 


332  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

sick  in  the  fall  of  1679,  and  her  weakness  increased  as  the  winter  passed 
away.  When  Holy  Week  arrived,  she  sank  rapidly,  and  several  days  before 
informed  her  confessor  of  the  moment,  day  and  hour  at  which  her  death 
would  occur.  On  Holy  Wednesday,  1680,  about  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
after  receiving  the  last  sacraments  with  seraphic  devotion,  she  breathed  her 
last.  Just  before  departing  she  sweetly  murmured  the  names  of  Jesus  and 
Mary.  Thus  died  Catherine  Tehgahkwita,  the  Lily  of  the  Mohawks,  the 
guardian-angel  of  the  swift  and  mighty  rapid,  near  which  are  her  tomb  and 
the  great  cross  which  towers  above  it.  Soon  this  became  a  point  for  pil- 
grims, "where  the  prelate  and  the  viceroy  came  alike  to  kneel  and  pay 
homage  to  exalted  virtue,  as  they  invoked  on  themselves  and  their  charge  the 
blessings  of  Heaven."  Many  well-authenticated  cures  have  been  wrought 
by  her  intercession;  among  others  that  of  Father  Colombidre,  canon  of  the 
Cathedral  of  Quebec  in  1696,  and  Du  Luth,  commander  of  Fort  Frontenac 
(Kingston),  who,  by  a  novena  to  her  in  1696,  was  cured  of  the  gout  which 
tormented  him  for  over  twenty-three  years. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  1S43,  a  majestic  cross  twenty-five  feet  high  was 
erected  over  Catherine's  tomb.  There  were  assembled  the  Indians  of 
Caughnawaga,  headed  by  their  missionary  and  chiefs.  Hundreds  of  French, 
Irish,  English,  and  Americans  gathered  around  to  witness  the  imposing  cere- 
mony. The  cross  was  blessed  by  the  Vicnr-Gcncral  of  Montreal,  and  "then 
slowly  raised  amid  the  chants  of  the  church,  the  thunder  of  the  cannon,  and 
the  mingled  shouts  of  the  men  of  many  climes  and  races." 

How  did  she  walk  this  sun-dimmed  earth  so  purely, 
Her  white  robes  gathered  from  its  tarnish  free? 
How  did  she  guide  her  fragile  baric  securely 
O'er  the  wild  waves  of  life's  tempestuous  sea? 
Ah!  'twas  her  ceaseless  care  to  "wa/c/t  and  pruy" — 
To  call  on  Him  whom  winds  and  waves  obey! 


Cbaptetr   XVII. 


Indians  by  the  Upper  Lakes. 


Fathkrs  Garreau  and  Druii.i,ettes.  —  Slain  on  the  Doorstep.  —  Father 
Renard. — A  Very  Hungry  Journf.y.— On  Lake  Superior  Shores. — Gift  of 
A  K1ND1.Y  Squaw.  —  Death  in  the  far  Wilderness.  —  Father  Claude 
Allouez  as  an  Apostle.— Noble  Father  Marquette.  —Journey  in  a  Canob. 
— Mission  and  Exploration  Work.— Down  the  Mississippi. — Sad  Return 
AND  Death.— Post  Mortem     Honors. 


HE  peninsula  lying  between  Lake  Superior  on  the  north,  anil  Lake 
Michigan  on  the  east,  extending  back  to  the  Mississippi,  was  in 
early  times  the  last  outpost  of  the  Algonquin  race  in  the  west, 
inhabited  by  several  tribes  of  that  family,  who  thus  formed  a 
barrier  to  the  Dakotas  or  Sioux — a  tribe  of  tartar  origin,  who  had 
advanced  eastward  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  One  Dakota 
tribe  had,  however,  pushed  farther  on,  and  settled  on  the  shores  of  Green 
Bay,  amid  the  Algonquins,  who  styled  them  Winnebagoes  or  salt-water 
men. 

The  chief  tribes  of  this  section  were,  on  the  north,  the  Ottawas  or 
Traders,  the  Chippeways  or  Ojibvvays,  the  Menomonees  or  Wild-rice  tribe, 
the  Sacs,  the  Foxes,  the  Mascoutens  or  Fire-nation,  the  Kikapoos,  and, 
toward  the  south,  the  Miamis  and  Illinois. 

Trading  as  they  did  with  the  Hurons,  these  tribes  were  soon  known  to 
the  French,  and  their  country  was  visited  at  an  early  day  by  Nicolet,  one  of 

333 


334  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  hardiest  pioneers  of  civiliz<ation  in  tlie  atiiials  of  Xcw  Fr.mce.  Ten  years 
spent  in  Algonquin  caliins  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Nipissing  and  the  Ottawa, 
fitted  him  to  traverse  in  safety  the  vast  regions  where  that  hinguage  prevailed. 
Several  years  prior  to  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1643,  while  engaged  in 
a  work  of  charitv,  Nicolet  set  out  from  the  Huron  country,  and,  after  a  voyage 
of  three  hundred  leagues,  visited  the  "  Sea-tribe,"  undoubtedly  the  AVinne- 
bagoes  or  Green  Bay,  with  whom,  in  the  name  of  France,  he  concluded  a 
treaty  in  an  assembly  of  four  or  five  thousand  men. 

There  was  none  to  follow  him  to  that  wild  West  till  1641,  when  a  great 
"feast  of  the  de.nd,"  given  by  the  Algonquins  in  Huronia,  gathered  there  all 
the  kiiulrc'l  tribes  to  take  part  in  the  funereal  games,  the  dances,  chants,  and 
mournful  processions  of  those  decennial  rites.  Among  the  rest  came  thf 
Chippcwas  from  the  Rapids,  which  close  to  the  vessels  of  man  the  entrance 
of  the  vast  upper  lake.  The  deputies,  like  the  rest,  were  visited  by  the  Jesuit 
missionaries,  and  so  won  were  the  good  Chippeways  by  the  gentle,  self- 
devoting  ways  of  those  heralds  of  the  cross,  that  they  earnestly  invited  them  to 
their  cabins  at  the  falls,  portraying  with  all  the  lively  imagination  of  the  child 
of  the  forests  the  riches  and  plenty  that  reigned  in  their  sylvan  abodes.  Ever 
eager  to  extend  their  spiritual  conquests,  to  enlarge  the  bounds  of  freedom 
in  this  western  world  (for  there  alone  is  liberty  where  dwells  the  s;  irit  of  the 
Lord),  the  missionaries  joyously  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Chippeways. 

By  command  of  their  superior,  two  missionaries,  Father  Charles 
Raymbaut,  thoroughly  versed  in  the  Algonquin  customs  and  language,  with 
Father  Isaac  Jogues,  no  less  complete  a  Huron,  were  detached  to  visit  them. 
On  the  17th  of  June,  they  launched  their  canoes  at  the  mission-house  of  St. 
Mary's,  and  for  seventeen  days  advanced  over  the  crystal  waters  of  the  inland 
sea,  amid  the  beautiful  islands  which  stretch  across  the  lake,  clustering  around 
the  lake-gemmed  Manitouline,  so  hallowed  to  the  Indian's  mind.  When 
they  reached  the  falls,  they  found  two  thousand  Indians  assembled  there,  and 
amid  their  joyful  greetings,  the  missionaries  gazed  with  delight  on  the  vast 
fields -which  lay  before  them.  They  heard  of  tribe  after  tribe  which  \ay 
around,  and  ever  and  anon  of  the  terrible  Nadowessi  who  dwelt  on  the  great 
river  of  the  West.  Earnestly  did  the  Chippeways  press  the  two  fathers  to 
stay  in  their  midst.  "We  will  embrace  you,"  said  thev, "  as  brothers;  we 
shall  derive  profit  from  your  words;"  but  it  could  not  be  so.  The  paucity  of 
missionaries  in  the  Huron  country  did  not  yet  permit  the  establishment  of 
that  distant  mission.     Raymbaut  and  Jogues  could  but  plant  the  cross  to  mark 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  335 

the  limit  of  their  spiritual  progress;  yet  they  turned  it  to  the  south,  for  thither 
now  tiicir  hopes  began  to  tend.  After  a  short  stay  they  returned  to  St. 
Mary's,  and  hopes  were  entertained  of  soon  establishing  a  mission  on  Lake 
Superior;  but  Raymbaut  shortly  after  fell  a  victim  to  the  climate,  while 
Jogues  began  in  his  own  person  a  long  career  of  martyrdom,  preluding  the 
ruin  of  the  Huron  mission,  the  death  of  its  apostles,  f.nd  the  destruction  of 
the  tribe. 

By  1650,  Upper  Canada  was  a  desert,  and  the  missionaries,  thinned  in 
numbers,  turned  to  nearer  fields,  and  even  tried  to  bend  the  haughty  Iroquois^ 
and  bow  his  neck  to  the  cross. 

Tiie  West,  however,  was  not  forgotten.  In  1656,  a  flotilla  of  Ottawas 
appeared  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  led  by  two  adventurous  traders  who  had  two 
years  previously  struck  into  the  far  West.  These  Indians  asked  a  French 
alliance  and  missionaries,  both  of  which  were  readily  granted.  Two  Jesuit 
fathers  were  selected  to  accompany  them,  with  a  considerable  number  of 
Frenchmen,  intended  to  form  a  commercial  establishment  in  the  West.  Dis- 
gusted with  the  brutality  and  heedlessness  of  the  Ottawas,  the  Frenchmen,  on 
reaching  Three  Rivers,  resolved  to  abandon  the  undertaking;  but  the  two 
missionaries.  Fathers  Leonard  Garreau  and  Gabriel  Druillettes,  undismayed 
by  the  danger,  still  kept  on  their  way.  As  the  French  had  foreseen,  the 
flotilla  was  attacked  by  an  Iroquois  war-party,  posted  in  ambush.  At  the 
first  volley,  the  generous  Garreau  was  mortally  wounded,  and  abandoned  by 
the  Ottawas,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  who,  tearing  off  his  clothing, 
left  him  weltering  in  his  blood  in  a  fort  which  they  had  thrown  up  on  the 
end  of  the  island  of  Montreal.  Yet  after' several  days,  fearing  the  vengeance 
of  the  French,  they  carried  him  to  Montreal,  where  he  soon  after  expired. 
Druillettes  meanwhile  had  been  left  by  the  Ottawas  in  another  fort,  which 
they  threw  up,  but  finally  abandoned,  refusing  to  take  the  missionary  with 
them.  Thus  failed  the  second  projected  mission  in  the  West,  baffled  like  the 
first  by  the  cruelty  of  the  Iroquois. 

In  1660,  another  flotilla  descended;  tiie  result  of  the  enterprise  of  French 
voyagers,  who  now  led  to  the  trading-posts  of  France  sixty  canoes  loaded 
with  peltry,  and  manned  by  three  hundred  western  Algonquins.  These,  too, 
asked  an  alliance  and  black. gowns  to  teach  them  to  pray.  At  this  epoch  the 
missions  had  received  a  new  impulse  from  the  zeal  and  devotedness  of  the 
first  bishop  of  Quebec,  who  found  a  kindred  spirit  in  the  veteran  Father 
Jerome   Lallemant,  then   superior  of  the  Jesuits  in   Canada,  a  man  full  of 


336  TRIALS  .4XD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

energy  and  /.c;il.  Gladl)'  vvoulcl  lie  have  gone  himself  to  tlie  nppcr  lakes,  to 
which,  as  superior  of  the  Huron  mission,  he  had  sent  Jogues  and  Raymbaut 
nearly  twenty  years  before.  Ilis  duties,  however,  detained  him  at  Quebec. 
There  was  still,  however,  another  survivor  of  the  old  Huron  missions,  long 
years  before  the  comrade  and  fellow-laborer  of  Jogues,  Bressani,  Brdbeuf, 
Garnier,  Garreau,  and  others,  who  had  already  won  a  martyr's  crown  amid 
their  apostolic  toil.  His  jicad  was  whitened  with  jcars,  his  face  scarred  with 
wounds  received  in  the  streets  of  Cayuga,  for  he  had  been  one  of  the  first  to 
bear  the  Faith  into  central  New  York.  Thoroughly  inured  to  Indian  life 
with  many  a  dialect  of  Huron  and  Algonquin  at  his  command,  Ren(5  Menard 
sought  to  die  as  his  earlier  friends  and  comrades  had  long  since  done.  The 
West  seemed  a  promised  land  to  be  reached  only  through  the  Red  Sea  of 
his  own  blood,  and  with  joy  he  received  the  older  to  begin  his  march  into  the 
wilderness.  We  have  still  e.xtant  a  letter  written  by  him  in  August,  1660,  on 
leaving  Three  Rivers,  replete  with  a  spirit  of  sacrifice,  which  can  scarce  find 
a  parallel.  He  went  destitute  and  alone,  broken  with  age  and  toil,  hut  with 
a  life  which  he  saw  could  last  only  a  few  months;  yet  he  had  no  thought  of 
recoiling;  it  was  the  work  of  Providence;  and  in  utter  want  of  all  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  he  exclaims:  "  He  w  ho  feeds  the  young  raven  and  clothes  the 
lily  of  the  field,  will  take  care  of  his  servants;  and  should  we  at  last  die  of 
misery,  how  great  our  happiness  would  be!" 

There  is  something  grand  and  sublime  in  the  heroism  of  these  early  mis- 
sionaries, which  rises  as  we  contemplate  it;  and  few  wiil  win  our  admiration 
more  than  Menard,  a  man  devoid  of  enthusiasm,  whose  letters  are  as  calm  and 
unimpassioned  as  those  of  a  commercial  house,  yet  one  w  ho,  in  his  vocation  and 
in  the  appointment  of  his  superiors,  saw  the  will  of  God,  and  did  it  manfully. 

Soon  after  leaving  Three  Rivers  he  met  Bishop  Laval.  "Every  con- 
sideration, father,"  said  the  pious  prelate,  "would  seem  to  require  you  to 
remain  here;  but  God,  stronger  than  all,  will  have  you  there,"  and  he  pointed 
to  the  distant  West.  Encouraged  and  borne  up  still  more  b}*  this,  full  of  a 
desire  of  suffering,  he  finally  started  from  Montreal,  the  frontier  post.  In 
spite  of  their  promises  of  good  treatment,  the  Ottawas  compelled  the  aged 
priest  to  paddle  from  morning  to  night,  to  help  them  at  the  many  portages — 
in  a  word,  to  take  on  him  all  their  drudgery.  The  moments  he  could  steal 
to  say  his  office  displeased  them;  they  flung  his  breviary  into  the  water;  and 
at  last,  insensible  to  pity,  left  him  on  the  shore  without  food  cr  protection. 
During  the  whole  voyage,  Menard  had,  like  the  rest,  suffered  greatly  from 


CATHOLIC  aiLKCH  IN  AMERICA  337 

famine.  Berries  were  theii-  chief  food;  and  happy  he  who  found  some  edible 
moss,  and  happier  he  who  had  in  his  clothing  a  piece  of  moose-skin.  He 
had  borne  all  (jatiently;  but  now,  barefoot  and  wounded  by  the  sharp  stones, 
he  stands  at  last  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  abandoned  to  starvation. 
After  a  few  days,  during  which  he  lived  on  pounded  bones  and  such  other 
objects  as  he  could  find,  his  faithless  conductors  relenting,  returned,  and  con- 
veyed him  to  the  rendezvous  of  the  tribe,  a  bay  which  he  reached  on  St. 
Theresa's  clay,  and  named  after  her.  "  Here,"  says  he,  "I  had  the  consola- 
tion of  saying  Mass,  which  repaid  me  with  usury  for  all  my  past  hardships. 
Here  I  began  a  mission,  composed  of  a  flying  church  of  Christian  Indians 
from  the  neighborhood  of  the  settlements,  and  of  such  as  God's  mercy  has 
gathered  in  here." 

This  first  mission  in  the  West  was  situated,  as  the  date  of  his  letter  tells 
us,  one  hundred  leagues  west  of  Sault  St.  Mary's;  in  all  probability  at 
Keeweenaw.  Without  waiting  to  repose,  he  began  his  ministry  among  the 
few  Christians  there,  and  souglit  out  the  afflicted  and  miserable.  "  One  of 
my  first  visits,"  says  he,  "was  in  a  wretched  hut  dug  out  under  a  large  rotten 
tree,  which  shielded  it  on  one  side,  and  su]i]iorted  by  some  fir-branches, vs'hich 
sheltered  it  against  the  wind.  I  entered  on  liie  other  side  almost  flat  on  my 
face,  but  creeping  in  I  found  a  treasme,  a  poor  woman,  abandoned  by  her 
husband  and  by  her  daughter,  who  had  left  her  two  dying  children,  one  about 
two,  and  the  other  about  three  years  old.  I  spoke  of  the  Faith  to  this  poor 
afflicted  creature,  who  listened  to  me  with  pleasure." 

"  Brother,"  said  she,  "I  know  well  that  our  folks  reject  thy  words;  but, 
for  my  part,  I  like  them  well;  wiiat  thou  sayest  is  full  of  consolation." 

With  these  words  she  drew  from  under  the  tree  a  piece  of  dry  fish, 
which,  so  to  say,  she  took  from  her  very  moutli  to  repay  my  visit.  I  thanked 
her,  however,  valuing  more  the  happy  occasion  which  God  gave  me  of 
securing  the  salvation  of  these  two  children,  by  conferring  on  them  holy  bap- 
tism. I  returned  some  time  after  to  this  good  creature,  and  found  her  full  of 
resolution  to  serve  God;  and,  in  fact,  from  that  time,  she  began  to  come  to 
morning  and  evening  prayers  so  constantly  that  she  did  not  fail  once,  how- 
ever busied  or  engaged  in  gaining  her  scanty  livelihood.  Soon  after  thus 
beginning  his  distant  and  laborious  mission,  Le  Brochet,  a  chief,  who  had 
especially  ill-treated  him  on  the  way,  drove  him  out  of  his  cabin;  and  Menard 
had  no  refuge  but  "  a  kind  of  little  hermitage,  a  cabin  built  of  fir-branches, 
piled  on  one  another,  not  so  much,"  says  he,  "to  shield  me  from  the  rigor  of 


338  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  season  as  to  correct  my  imagination  and  persuade  me  that  I  was  sheltered." 

Such  was  the  winter  residence  of  an  aged  and  enfeebled  man.  Consola- 
tions were  not  wanting.  A  pure  and  noble  young  man,  who,  amid  the  vice 
and  debauchery  of  his  nation,  had  always  been  regarded  rather  as  a  spirit 
than  a  being  of  flesh  and  blood,  came  to  be  instructed.  Heroically  he 
embraced,  heroically  he  professed  the  faith  of  the  cross.  His  widowed  sister 
and  her  children,  and  some  few  others,  were  soon  added  to  Menard's  flock, 
but  the  missionary's  progress  was  slow.  He  had,  however,  no  idea  of  aban- 
doning his  post. 

"I  would  have  to  do  myself  great  violence,"  says  he,  "to  come  down 
from  the  cross,  which  God  has  prepared  for  me,  in  this  extremity  of  the 
world  in  my  old  days.  I  know  not  the  nature  of  the  nails  which  fasten  me 
to  this  adorable  wood;  but  the  mere  thought  that  any  one  should  come  to 
take  me  down  makes  me  shudder,  and  I  often  start  up  from  my  slumbers, 
imagining  that  there  is  no  Ottawa  land  for  me,  and  that  my  sins  send  me 
back  to  the  spot  from  which  the  mercy  of  my  God  had  by  so  signal  a  favor 
once  drawn  me." 

His  letter  of  July,  1661,  announces  his  desire,  or  rather  his  resolution,  to 
attempt  a  journey  of  two  or  three  hundred  leagues  over  a  land  intersected  by 
lakes  and  marshes,  in  order  to  announce  the  gospel  to  four  populous  nations 
doubtless  the  Dakotas,  of  whom  he  had  heard. 

The  project,  however,  he  never  realized ;  another  field  opened  before 
him.  It  had  nothing  grand  or  sublime  in  its  novelty  or  the  power  of  the 
nation,  it  was  beset  with  difficulty  and  danger,  but  it  was  one  which  an  old 
Huron  missionary  could  not  think  of  refusing.  A  party  of  the  unfortunate 
Wyandots  had,  as  we  have  seen,  fled  to  the  upper  lake,  and  at  this  moment, 
lay  on  or  near  the  Noquet  Islands,  in  the  mouth  of  Green  Bay.  Long  desti- 
tute of  a  pastor,  the  Christians  were  fast  relapsing  into  pagan  habits;  but 
still  clinging  to  the  faith,  they  sent  to  implore  Menard  to  visit  them.  The 
missionary  first  sent  some  of  his  French  companions  to  explore  the  way. 
They  descended  a  rapid  river,  and  after  countless  rapids,  portages,  and  preci- 
pices, reached  the  village,  which  was  inhabited  by  a  few  wretched  Hurons 
mere  living  skeletons.  Convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  Menard's  reaching 
it,  or  remaining  if  he  did,  they  returned,  encountering  still  greater  difficulty 
in  ascending  the  river.  On  arriving  at  the  mission  in  June,  1661,  they 
implored  the  aged  missionary  not  to  attempt  a  journey  so  evidently  beyond  his 
strength.     All  the  French  joined  their  entreaties  to  those  who  spoke  frorn 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  339 

experience,  but  in  vain.  Speaking  of  liis  Sioux  mission  he  had  said,  "I  hope 
to  die  on  the  way."  No  fear  of  death  then  could  deter  him  from  answering 
a  call  of  duty.  His  faithful  companion,  the  lay-brother,  John  Gudrin,  spoke 
in  the  spirit  of  the  cross,  and  reminding  him  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  expiring  at 
the  very  threshold  of  the  Celestial  Empire,  induced  him  to  attempt  the  voyage, 
even  if  he,  too,  should  perish  ere  he  reached  the  scene  of  labor.  "  God  calls 
me  thither;  I  must  go,  if  it  cost  me  my  life;  I  cannot  suffer  souls  to  perish 
under  the  pretext  of  saving  the  bodily  life  of  a  wretched  old  man  like  myself. 
What!  are  we  to  serve  God  only  when  there  is  nothing  to  suffer  and  no  risk 
of  life  ?  " 

He  set  out  with  some  Hurons  whom  accident  had  brought  to  the  mission; 
but,  on  reaching  a  lake,  they  left  him.  After  waiting  here  a  month  for  their 
return,  he  and  Gudrin  proceeded;  but, on  the  loth  of  August,  the  poor  father, 
following  his  companion  at  the  last  portage  on  the  river,  mistook  one  wood 
for  another,  and  was  lost  or  seized  by  some  band  of  Indians.  Gudrin  having 
accomplished  the  portage,  sought  him, but  in  vain;  hurrying  on  to  the  Huron 
village,  he,  by  signs,  at  last  procured  assistance;  but  no  trace  of  the  mission- 
ary could  be  found.  Long  after  his  bag  was  found  in  the  hands  of  an  Indian, 
who  refused  to  tell  where  he  he  had  got  it,  and  some  of  his  chapel-service 
was  subseqently  seen  in  a  lodge.  He  was  probably  murdered  on  the  first 
rapid  of  the  Menomonee,  closing  a  long  life  of  assiduous  toil  in  the  missions 
of  America  by  a  death  glorious  in  the  sight  of  heaven,  although  there  was 
none  to  chronicle  his  sufferings  and  bis  constancy  in  death.  He  died  about 
the  loth  of  August,  1661,  being  57  years  of  age.  His  constitution  was  weak 
and  delicate,  but  his  courage  boundless.  His  fervent  piety  made  him  in  all 
adversities  and  hardships  consider  only  the  glory  of  God,  and  realize  the 
truth  that  "when  most  bereft  of  human  consolation,  God  takes  possession  of 
the  heart  and  convinces  it  how  far  His  holy  grace  surpasses  all  consolation  to 
be  found  in  creatures." 

With  the  death  of  Menard  closed  the  first  Ottawa  mission.  At  that 
moment  there  was  not  a  missionary  station  nearer  than  Montreal,  and  indeed 
his  post  was  almost  as  near  to  the  Spanish  missions  of  Santa  Fe  or  Alachua 
as  it  was  to  Montreal ;  yet,  regardless  of  all,  he  had  fearlessly  penetrated  to 
that  distant  spot. 

The  Jesuits  had  faced  death  and  difficulty  in  every  shape;  mission  after 
mission  had  been  ruined,  and  the  ablest  men  of  the  order  ruthlessly  butchered. 
"  But,"  says  the   Protestant   Bancroft,  "  it  may  be  asked  if  these  massacres 


340  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

quenched  enthusiasm.  I  answer  that  the  Jesuits  never  receded  one  foot;  but, 
as  in  .1  brave  army,  new  troops  press  forward  to  fill  the  places  of  the  fallen, 
there  was  never  wanting  heroism  and  enterprise  in  behalf  of  the  cross  under 
French  dominion." 

At  the  present  moment  they  were  true  to  their  spirit;  no  idea  of  aban- 
doning the  Ottawa  mission  seems  to  have  entered  their  minds.  The  superiors 
needed  only  a  man  fitted  for  the  vast  field.  One  soon  arrived.  Claudius 
Allouez  had  long  sought  the  Canada  mission,  not  buoyed  up  by  any  false 
enthusiasm,  founded  on  an  ignorance  of  the  real  state  of  the  Indians,  but 
conscious  of  the  difficulty,  and  ready  to  meet  it.  Him  the  superior  of  the 
mission  now  selected,  and  he  soon  prepared  to  face  all  the  dangers  of  a  long 
and  perilous  route,  to  meet  hunger,  nakedness,  cold,  and  cruelty,  to  win  the 
West  to  Catholicity.  In  1664  he  was  at  Montreal,  too  late,  however  to 
embark,  as  the  Ottawa  flotilla  was  already  gone.  More  successful  in  the 
following  year,  he  embarked,  and,  with  happier  auspices,  reached  the 
southern  shore  of  Lake  Superior  and  began  his  labors,  which,  for  the  next 
thirty  years,  were  devoted  with  unabated  zeal  to  the  moral  and  mental 
elevation  of  the  Indians  of  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Illinois.  He  may 
indeed  be  styled  in  justice  the  apostle  of  the  West. 

After  great  toil  and  suffering,  aggravated  by  the  brutality  of  his  con- 
ductors, he  arrived  on  the  ist  of  September,  1665,  at  Sault  St.  Mary's,  and 
for  a  month  coasted  along  the  southern  shore.  After  stopping  at  St.  Theresa's 
Bay,  where  two  Christian  women  reminded  him  of  Menard's  labors,  he 
advanced  to  the  beautiful  bay  of  Chegoimegon,  which  he  reached  on  the  ist  of 
October.  Ten  or  twelve  petty  Algonquin  tribes  soon  assembled  there  to 
hang  on  the  war-kettle,  and  prepare  for  a  general  invasion  of  the  land  of 
the  Sioux.  The  young  braves  were  rousing  each  other  to  phrensy  by  dance, 
and  song,  and  boast.  The  envoy  of  Christ  was  the  envoy  of  peace.  His 
influence  was  not  exerted  in  vain.  The  sachems  pronounced  against  the 
war.  Tranquillity  being  thus  insured,  Allouez  adorned  his  chapel  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  at  the  spot  henceforth  called  Lapointe  du  Saint  Esprit,  and  began 
to  gather  his  Indian  church.  His  chapel  was  soon  an  object  of  wonder,  and 
wandering  hunters  of  many  a  tribe  came  to  wonder  and  to  listen.  Their 
numbers  and  attention  roused  the  hopes  of  the  earnest  and  laborious  mission- 
ary. In  a  short  time  the  Chippeways,  Pottawotamies,  Sacs  and  Foxes, 
Kikapoos,  Miamis,  and  Illinois  became  known  to  him,  and  to  all  he  announced 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


341 


the  truths  of  Christianity.  In  his  excursions  he  met  the  Sioux,  and  wrote 
home  telling  of  the  great  river  "  Mesipi." 

At  Chegoimegon  his  labors  were  crowned  with  but  partial  success. 
Many  were  no  strangers  to  Christianity,  but  had  long  resisted  its  saving 
doctrines.  Like  Menard,  he  had  to  struggle  with  superstition  and  vice,  con- 
soled only,  amid  hardship  and  ill-treatment,  by  the  fervor  of  a  few  faithful 
souls.  His  mission  comprised  two  towns — one  inhabited  by  the  Ottawa  clans, 
the  Kiskakons  and  Sinagos,  the  other  by  the  Tionontates.  The  latter  mostly 
converted  in  their  own  land,  he  endeavored  to  recall;  the  former,  embittered 
against  the  faith,  he  endeavored  to  gain,  and  not  in  vain.  In  the  first  winter 
he  baptized  eighty  infants  and  three  adults  in  danger  of  death,  and  had  the 
consolation  of  gaining  one  whom  he  deemed  worthy  of  the  sacrament  in 
health. 

Superstition  reigned  around  him.  The  lake  was  a  god,  the  rapids, 
rocks,  and  metals,  all  were  gods;  and  a  chimera  of  their  own  imagination, 
Missipsi,  was  the  object  of  universal  adoration.  He  visited  also  the  Saul- 
teurs  at  Sault  St.  Mary's,  and  after  spending  a  month  among  them,  proceeded 
to  Lake  Alimpegon,  where  the  Nipissings,  better  taught  by  adversity  than 
their  old  Tionontate  neighbors,  afforded  the  missionary  greater  consolation. 
They  had  had  no  priest  for  twenty  years,  and  many  were  still  pagans,  but  the 
old  Christians  were  full  of  fervor.  But  the  great  field  in  his  eyes  was,  how- 
ever, the  new  tribes  yet  uncorrupted  by  intercourse  with  the  whites. 

After  two  years  of  labor,  AUouez,  having  thus  founded  the  missions  of 
the  Ottawas  and  Ojibwas,  and  revived  those  of  the  Hurons  and  Nipissings, 
returned  to  Quebec  to  lay  before  his  superior  a  full  account  of  the  West,  and 
then,  two  days  later,  without  waiting  for  repose,  having  received  supplies  and 
a  companion  in  the  person  of  Father  Louis  Nicholas,  he  set  out  again  for 
Chegoimegon.  Though  forced  to  leave  their  French  companions  at  Mon- 
treal, and  otherwise  harassed,  they  reached  their  mission  in  safety,  and 
entered  on  their  apostolic  duties,  in  poverty  and  lumger,  amid  the  insolence 
and  mockery  of  the  unbeliever.  They  announced  the  faith  to  twenty  five 
different  tribes,  and  out  of  these  men  of  many  tongues  gathered  eighty  souls 
by  baptism  into  the  Churcii  of  Christ. 

Hut  a  powerful  assistance  was  now  coming.  In  April,  1668,  Father 
James  Marquette,  S.  J.,  left  Quebec  with  Brother  Le  Bocsme,  to  begin  his 
labors  in  the  west.  As  this  famous  Catholic  missionary  enters  on  the  field 
some  special  account  of  his  career  will  be  found  acceptable. 


342 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 


Among  the  names  that  have  become  immortalized  in  the  history  of 
our  country  ihere  are  few  more  certainly  destined  for  perpetual  fame  than 
those  connected  with  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  that  mighty  river  which 
courses  so  boldly  and  majestically  through  this  vast  continent.  Thus  it  is 
probable  that  there  never  will  be  a  time  when  even  children  at  school  will 
not  be  familiar  with  such  names  as  De  Soto,  Marquette,  and  La  Salle. 

James  Marquette  was  born  in  the  city  of  Laon,  near  a  small  branch  of 
the  Oise,  in  the  department  of  Aisne,  France,  in  the  year  1637.  His  family 
was  the  most  ancient  of  that  ancient  city,  and  had,  during  many  generations, 
filled  high  offices  and  rendered  valuable  services  to  their  country,  both  in 
civil  and  military  life.  We  have  accounts  of  eminent  services  rendered  to 
his  sovereign  by  one  of  his  ancestors  as  early  as  1360.  The  usefulness  and 
public  spirit  of  the  family,  we  may  well  suppose,  did  not  expire  with  the  dis- 
tinguished subject  of  this  memoir;  for  we  find  that,  in  the  French  army  that 
aided  our  fathers  in  the  achievement  of  American  independence,  there  were 
no  less  than  three  Marquettes  who  laid  down  their  lives  in  the  cause  of  lib- 
erty. His  maternal  name  was  no  less  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  the 
Church.  On  the  side  of  his  mother.  Rose  de  la  Salle,  he  was  connected  with 
the  good  and  venerable  John  Baptist  de  la  Salle,  founder  of  the  Brothers  of 
the  Christian  Schools,  so  distinguished  for  their  successful  services  in  the 
cause  of  popular  religious  education.  It  was  this  pious  mother  that  instilled 
into  her  illustrious  son  that  tender  and  fervid  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin 
which  so  ravished  his  soul  and  adorned  his  whole  life.  In  1654,  when  but 
seventeen  years  old,  he  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus,  in  which  the  time  of  his 
novitiate,  the  terms  of  teaching  and  of  his  own  theological  studies,  consumed 
twelve  years.  He  had  chosen  for  his  model  St.  Francis  Xavier,  and  in  study- 
ing his  patron's  life,  and  meditating  on  his  virtues,  the  young  priest  conceived 
a  holy  longing  to  enter  the  field  of  missionary  toil.  He  was  enrolled  in  the 
province  of  Champagne;  but,  as  this  had  no  foreign  missions,  he  caused  him- 
self to  be  transferred  to  the  province  of  France.  His  cherished  object  was 
soon  attained.  In  1666  he  was  sent  out  to  Canada,  and  arrived  at  Quebec  on 
the  30th  of  September  of  that  year. 

Father  Marquette  was  at  first  destined  for  the  Montagnais  mission, 
whose  central  station  was  at  Tadousal,  and  on  the  loth  of  October  he  started 
for  Three  Rivers,  in  order  to  study  the  Montagnais  language,  a  key  to  many 
neighboring  Indian  tongues,  under  that  celebrated  philologist,  as  well  as 
renowned  missionary,  Father   Gabriel  Druillettes.     His  intervals   of   leisure 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  343 

were  here  employed  in  the  offices  of  the  holy  ministry.  Father  Marquette 
was  thus  occupied  till  April,  1668,  when  his  destination  was  changed,  and  he 
received  orders  to  prepare  for  the  Ottawa  mission  on  Lake  Superior.  He 
accordingly  returned  to  Quebec,  and  thence  set  out  on  the  21st  of  April,  with 
Brother  Le  Boesme  and  two  other  companions.  It  was  a  journey  destined 
to  make  its  impress  not  only  in  the  missionary  sense  but  on  the  history  of  the 
American  continent. 

Father  Allouez  had  resolved  at  this  time  to  leave  Lapointe  and  proceed 
to  Green  Bay,  weary  of  the  obstinate  unbelief  of  the  Kiskakons,  who, 
instructed  by  the  old  Huron  missionaries  in  Upper  Canada,  by  Menard  and 
by  himself,  answered  their  exhortations  only  by  ridicule.  Shaking  the  dust 
off  his  feet,  he  prepared  to  depart.  An  accident  detained  him,  and  the  Kiska- 
kons, corresponding  at  last  to  grace,  yielded.  The  chief,  Kekakoung,  now 
baptized,  spoke  in  favor  of  Christianity.  Three  venerable  chiefs  supported 
his  views.  Polygamy,  sacrifices,  and  superstitions  were  suppressed;  the 
chapel  was  thronged;  and  by  long  and  repeated  instructions,  Allouez  now 
prepared  one  hundred  for  baptism.  This  post,  however,  he  soon  left  to  Father 
Marquette,  who  reached  it  in  September,  1069,  after  a  month's  navigation 
amid  snow  and  ice,  which  closed  his  way,  and  frequently  perilled  his  life.  At 
the  mission  were  five  villages — four  Algonquin  and  one  Huron. 

The  first  stopping-place  on  the  vast  journey  was  Montreal,  one  hundred 
and  eighty  miles  up  the  river.  This  part  of  the  voyage  was  made  in  a  birch- 
bark  canoe,  with  three  boatmen  to  aid  the  priests  in  paddling  it  against  the 
stream.  The  frail  craft  proceeded  at  the  rate  of  about  thirty  miles  a  day;  and 
when  night  came  on  Father  Marquette  and  his  companions  stretched  their 
weary  limbs  on  the  banks  of  the  lordly  river.  Sometimes  they  halted  at  an 
Indian  village;  at  other  times  they  encamped  in  the  forest,  with  naught  save 
the  blue  sky  to  shield  them,  the  night  wind  lulling  the  lone  travelers  to  sleep, 
as  it  sighed  though  the  leafless  branches,  which  the  slowly-returning  sun  of 
spring  scarcely  yet  cause<l  to  bud. 

The  Montreal  of  that  day  was  very  different  from  the  beautiful  and 
stately  city  which  now  stands  at  the  head  of  ship  navigation  on  the  St. 
Lawrence.  It  was  merely  a  little  fort,  with  a  few  cabins  and  wigwams. 
After  a  short  stay  at  this  point,  waiting  for  a  suitable  guide  to  traverse  the 
hundreds  of  miles  of  pathless  wilderness  yet  to  come,  a  party  of  Indians 
from  Lake  Superior  came  down  the  river  in  their  canoes.  Father  Marquette 
embarked  with  them  on  their  return  trip. 


344  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

The  red  navigators  aiul  their  apostoHc  companion  paddled  up  the  liulili.1 
Ottawa,  a  distance  of  nearly  four  hundred  miles.  Thence,  by  a  chain  of 
n  irrow  streams  and  small  lakes,  they  entered  Lake  Nipissing.  Then,  paddling 
down  the  rapid  course  of  the  French  River,  through  cheerless  solitudes  eighty 
miles  in  extent,  the  little  lleet  finally  entered  the  well-known  Georgian  Bay. 
Nor  was  this  the  end.  Crossing  this  vast  sheet  of  water,  they  beheld,  open- 
ing before  them,  the  seemingly  boundless  expanse  of  Lake  Huron,  They 
skirted  along  the  wild  northern  shores  of  this  inland  sea  until  they  reached 
Sault  Ste.  Marie,  which  marks  the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior  into  Lake  Huron. 

Here  Father  Marquette  founded  the  famous  mission  of  Saulte  Sainte 
Marie;  and,  planting  his  cabin  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  on  the  American 
side,  he  began  his  heroic  and  apostolic  career  in  the  great  West.  He  toiled, 
instructed,  and  built  a  church;  but  a  missionary  was  urgently  needed  for 
Lapointe,  and  to  "  that  ungrateful  field,"  Marquette  with  joy  bent  his  steps. 
Here,  truly,  it  was  up-hill  work.  The  Ottawas  and  Hurons,  among  whom 
he  was  now  stationed,  were  fearfully  corrupt.  As  he  himself  testifies,  in  a 
letter  to  his  superior,  dated  1669,  they  were  "  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God, 
being  above  all  other  nations  addicted  to  lewdness,  sacrifices,  and  juggleries." 

In  the  letter  just  quoted,  5'ather  Marquette  for  the  first  time  mentions 
the  Mississippi.  He  says:  "  When  the  Illinois  come  to  Lapointe  they  pass  a 
large  river,  almost  a  league  wide.  It  runs  north  and  south,  and  so  far  that 
the  Illinois,  who  do  not  know  what  canoes  are,  have  never  yet  heard  of  its 
mouth.  This  great  river  can  hardly  empty  in  Virginia,  and  we  rather  believe 
that  its  mouth  is  in  California.  If  the  Indians  who  promise  to  make  me  a 
canoe  do  not  fail  to  keep  their  word,  we  shall  go  into  this  river  as  soon  as  we 
can  with  a  Frenchman  and  this  young  man,  given  me,  who  knows  some  of 
the  languages;  we  shall  visit  the  nations  which  inhabit  it,  in  order  to  open 
the  way  to  so  many  of  our  fathers  who  have  long  awaited  this  happiness. 
This  discovery  will  also  give  us  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  southern  and 
western  sea." 

The  clouds  of  war,  however,  were  gloomily  overshadowing  Lapointe. 
Provoked  by  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas,  the  fierce  Sioux  swooped  down  on 
their  villages  and  obliged  them  to  fly.  Father  Marquette  followed  his  fleeing 
Hurons  to  Mackinaw,  founded  the  mission  of  St.  Ignatius  there,  and  built  a 
chapel  in  1671.  This  rude  log  church  was  the  first  sylvan  shrine  raised  by 
Catholicity  at  Mackinaw. 

The  star  of  hope  which  lit  up  his  fancied  jaalhway  to  the  "  Father  of 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  345 

Waters,"  now  grew  dim,  and  at  last  faded  almost  out  of  view.  Still  he 
hoped  against  hope,  labored  among  his  Indians,  and  fervently  prayed  to  the 
Most  Blessed  Virgin  to  obtain  for  him  the  privilege  of  discovering  the  great 
river,  and  of  spreading  the  light  of  the  Gospel  among  the  dusky  inhabitants 
of  its  banks. 

The  war  which  was  raging  in  the  country  rendered  it  impossible  for  the 
missionaries  of  themselves  to  undertake  the  opening  of  the  long-desired 
mission  of  the  Illinois,  and  they  had  accordingly  applied  for  assistance  to  the 
French  government  to  further  this  great  enterprise.  Father  Marquette,  as 
we  have  seen  from  his  letters,  remained  ever  ready  at  a  moment's  notice  from 
his  superiors  to  advance  into  this  dangerous  field.  He  was  not  deterred  by  a 
consciousness  of  his  own  declining  health,  already  enfeebled  by  labors  and 
exposures,  nor  by  the  hostile  character  of  the  nations  through  whose  country 
he  would  have  to  pass,  nor  by  the  danger  of  a  cruel  death  at  the  hands  of 
the  fierce  Dakota.  This  last  only  made  the  prospect  more  enticing  to  one 
whose  highest  ambition  was  to  win  the  glorious  crown  of  martyrdom  in 
opening  the  way  for  his  brother  Jesuits  to  follow  in  the  battle  of  the  Faith. 
The  same  flotilla  that  carried  his  letter  to  Father  Dablon  to  Quebec  in  the 
summer  of  1672,  on  its  return  conveyed  to  him  the  joyous  news  that  the 
petition  of  the  missionaries  had  found  favor  with  the  government;  that  the 
Sieur  Jolliet  was  designated  to  undertake  the  exploration  of  the  Mississippi; 
and  that  Father  Marquette  was  chosen  the  missionary  of  the  expedition. 

It  was  the  Blessed  Virgin  whom  Father  Marquette  says,  "  I  had  always 
invoked  since  my  coming  to  the  Ottawa  country,  in  order  to  obtain  of  God 
the  favor  of  being  able  to  visit  the  nations  on  the  Mississippi  River."-  It  was 
on  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  same  Blessed  Virgin  Mary 
that  he  received  the  glorious  tidings  that  the  realization  of  his  hopes  and 
prayers  was  at  hand.  He  bestowed  upon  the  great  river  the  name  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception,  which,  however,  as  well  as  its  earlier  Spanish  name  of 
river  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  has  since  yielded  to  its  original  Indian  appellation. 

The  exploring  party,  consisting  of  the  meek,  single-hearted,  unpretend- 
ing, illustrious  Marquette,  with  Jolliet  for  his  associate,  five  Frenchmen  for 
his  companions,  and  two  Algonquins  as  guides,  lifting  their  canoes  on  their 
backs  and  walking  across  the  narrow  portage  that  divides  the  Fox  River 
from  the  Wisconsin,  set  out  upon  their  glorious  expedition. 

In  the  spring  they  embarked  at  Mackinaw  in  two  frail  bark  canoes;  each 
with  iiis  paddle  in  hand,  and  full  of  hope,  they  soon  plied  them  merrily  o\er 


346  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  crystal  waters  of  the  lake.  All  was  new  to  Marquette,  and  he  describes 
as  he  went  along  the  Menomonies,  Green  Bay,  and  Maskoutens,  which 
he  reached  on  the  7th  of  June,  ICTS.  He  had  now  attained  the  limit  of  former 
discoveries;  the  New  World  was  before  them;  they  looked  back  a  last  adieu 
to  the  waters  which,  great  as  the  distance  was,  connected  them  witli  Ouebec 
and  tlieir  countrymen:  they  knelt  on  the  shore  to  oflcr,  by  a  new  devotion, 
their  lives,  their  honor,  and  their  undertaking  to  their  beloved  Mother,  the 
Virgin  Mary  Immaculate;  then,  launching  on  the  Broad  Wisconsin,  sailed 
slowly  down  its  current,  amid  its  vine-clad  isles  and  its  countless  sand-bars. 
No  sound  broke  the  stillness,  no  human  form  appeared,  and,  at  last,  after  sail- 
ing seven  days,  on  the  17th  of  June  they  liappily  glided  into  the  great  river. 
Joy  that  could  find  no  utterance  filled  the  grateful  heart  of  Marquette. 

Captain  Glazier,  a  modern  traveler,  has  this  to  say  of  the  event  and  the 
locality:  "On  the  seventeenth  of  June,  1G73,  Marquette  and  Joliet,  reached 
the  junction  of  the  Wisconsin  with,  the  Mississippi,  a  little  above  which, 
Prairie  du  Chieti  stands  to-day.  Seven  years  later,  in  1G80,  Father  Hennepin 
and  M.  Dugay  explored  the  Mississippi  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  north- 
ward, and  on  ascending  and  descending  the  river  passed  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent town.  Hennepin  claimed  at  this  time  to  have  reached  the  head-waters 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  also  to  have  explored  it  to  its  mouth,  but  his  narrative 
bears  evidence  of  exaggeration.  Yet  his  achievement  was  a  splendid  one, 
with  which  he  might  well  have  been  satisfied.  He  passed  twice  the  entire 
distance  between  the  Falls  of  Saint  Anthony  and  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas, 
or  nearly  three  thousand  miles,  which  voyage  having  been  accomplished  in 
a  canoe  on  an  unknown  and  treacherous  river,  flowing  through  an  unex- 
plored wilderness,  was  truly  something  to  be  proud  of.  There  is  a  tolerably 
well  authenticated  tradition  that  Jesuit  missionaries  had  visited  the  country 
during  the  twenty  years  previous  to  Marquette's  expedition,  and  had  estab- 
lished a  number  of  missions  among  the  Indians  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
But  Prairie  du  Chien  and  the  surroimding  country  have  an  unwritten  history 
extending  back  into  the  remote  past,  only  a  few  traces  of  which  still  remain. 

The  river  of  the  Conception,  as  Father  Marquette  named  it,  now  lay 
stretching  away  hundreds  of  miles  to  an  unknown  sea.  Soon  all  was  new; 
mountain  and  forest  had  glided  away;  the  islands  with  their  groves  of  cotton- 
wood,  became  more  frequent,  and  moose  and  deer  browsed  on  the  plains; 
strange  animals  were  seen  traversing  the  river,  and  monstrous  fish  appeared 
in  its  waters. But  they  proceeded  on  their  way  amid  this  solitude,  frightful 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  347 

by  its  utter  absence  of  man.  Descending  still  further,  they  came  to  the  land 
of  the  bison,  or  pisikiou,  which,  with  the  turkey,  became  sole  tenants  of  tiic 
wilderness;  all  other  game  had  disappeared.  At  last,  on  tne  35th  of  June, 
they  descried  footprints  on  the  shore.  They  now  took  heart  again,  and 
Joliet  and  the  missionary,  leaving  their  five  men  in  the  canoes,  followed  a 
little  beaten  path  to  discover  who  the  tribe  might  be. ,  They  traveled  on  in 
silence  almost  to  the  cabin  doors,  when  they  halted,  and  with  a  loud  halloa 
proclaimed  their  coming. 

Three  villages  lay  before  them;  the  first,  roused  by  the  cry,  poured 
forth  its  motley  group,  which  halted  at  the  sight  of  the  new-comers  and  the 
well-known  dress  of  the  missionary.  Old  men  came  slowly  on,  step  by 
measured  step,  bearing  aloft  the  all- mysterious  calumet.  All  was  silence; 
they  stood  at  last  before  the  two  Europeans,  and  Marquette  asked,  "Who  are 
you?  "  "  We  are  Illinois,"  was  the  answer,  which  dispelled  all  anxiety  from 
the  explorers,  and  sent  a  thrill  to  the  heart  of  Marquette;  the  Illinois  mission- 
ary was  at  last  amid  the  children  of  that  tribe  which  he  had  so  long,  so 
tenderly  yearned  to  see. 

After  friendly  greetings  at  this  town  of  Pewaria,  and  the  neighboring 
one  of  Moing-wena,  they  returned  to  their  canoes,  escorted  by  the  wondering 
tribe,  who  gave  their  hardy  visitants  a  calumet,  the  safeguard  of  the  west. 
With  renewed  courage  and  lighter  hearts,  they  sailed  in,  and,  passing  a  high 
rock  with  strange  and  monstrous  forms  depicted  on  its  rugged  surface,  heard 
in  the  distance  the  roaring  of  a  mighty  cataract,  and  soon  beheld  Pekitanoui, 
or  the  Muddy  River,  as  the  Algonquins  call  the  Missouri,  rushing  like  some 
untamed  monster  into  the  calm  and  clear  Mississippi,  and  hurrving  in  with 
its  muddy  waters  the  trees  which  it  had  rooted  up  in  its  impetuous  course. 
Already  had  the  missionaries  heard  of  the  river  running  to  the  western  sea 
to  be  rcachwl  by  the  branches  of  the  Mississippi,  and  Marquette,  now  better 
informed,  fondly  hoped  to  reach  it  one  day  by  the  Missouri.  But  now  their 
course  lay  south,  and,  passing  a  dangerous  eddy,  the  demon  of  the  western 
Indians,  they  reached  the  Waboukigou,  or  Ohio,  the  river  of  the  Shawnecs, 
and,  still  holding  on  their  way,  came  to  the  warm  land  of  the  cane,  and  the 
country  which  the  mosquitoes  might  call  their  own.  While  enveloped  in  their 
sails  as  a  shelter  from  them,  they  came  upon  a  tribe  who  invited  them  to  the 
shore.  They  were  wild  wanderers,  for  they  had  guns  bought  of  Catholic 
Europeans  at  the  east. 

Thus,  after  all  had  been  friendly,  and  encouraged  by  this  second  meet- 


348  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

ing,  they  plied  their  oars  anew,  and,  amid  groves  of  cottonwood  on  either 
side,  descended  to  the  33d  degree,  when,  for  the  first  time,  a  hostile  reception 
was  promised  by  the  excited  Metchigameas.  Too  few  to  resist,  their  only 
hope  on  earth  was  the  mysterious  calumet,  and  in  heaven  the  protection  of 
Mary,  to  whom  they  sent  up  fervent  prayers.  At  last  the  storm  subsided, 
and  they  were  received  in  peace;  their  language  formed  an  obstacle,  but  an 
interpreter  was  found,  and  after  explaining  the  object  of  their  coming,  and 
announcing  the  great  truths  of  Christianity,  they  embarked  for  Akamsea,  a 
village  thirty  miles  below  on  the  eastern  shore. 

Here  they  were  well  received  and  learned  that  the  mouth  of  the  river 
was  but  ten  days'  sail  from  this  village;  but  they  heard,  too,  of  nations  there 
trading  with  the  Europeans,  and  of  wars  between  the  tribes,  and  the  two 
explorers  spent  a  night  in  consultation.  The  Mississippi,  they  now  saw, 
emptied  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  between  Florida  and  Tampico,  two  Span- 
ish points.  They  might,  by  proceeding,  fall  into  their  hands.  Thus  far  only 
Marquette  traced  the  map,  and  he  put  down  the  names  of  other  tribes  of 
which  they  heard.  Of  these,  in  the  Atotchasi,  Matora,  and  Papihaka,  we 
recognize  Arkansas  tribes;  and  the  Ankoroas,  Samikwas,  Pawnees,  and  Oma- 
has,  Kansas  and  Apiches,  are  well-known  in  after  dnys. 

They  accordingly  set  out  from  Akensea  on  the  17th  of  July,  to  return. 
Passing  the  Missouri  again,  they  entered  the  Illinois,  and  meeting  the  friendly 
Kaskaskias  at  its  upper  portage,  were  led  by  them  in  a  kind  of  triumph  to 
Lake  Michigan;  for  Marquette  h.nd  promised  to  return  and  instruct  them  in 
the  Faith.  Sailing  along  the  lake,  they  crossed  the  outer  peninsula  of  Green 
Bay,  and  reached  the  mission  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  just  four  months  after 
their  departure  from  it. 

Thus  had  the  missionaries  achieved  their  long  projected  work.  The 
triumph  of  the  age  was  thus  completed  in  the  discovery  and  exploration  ot 
the  Mississippi,  which  threw  open  to  France  the  richest,  most  fertile  and 
accessible  territory  of  the  New  World.  Marquette,  whose  health  had  been 
severely  tried  in  this  voyage,  remained  at  St.  Francis  to  recruit  his  strength 
before  resuming  his  wonted  missionary  labors,  for  he  sought  no  laurels,  he 
aspired  to  no  tinsel  praise. 

The  distance  passed  over  by  Father  Marquette  on  this  great  expedition, 
in  his  little  bark  canoe,  was  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
miles.  The  feelings  with  which  he  regarded  an  enterprise  having  so  grave  a 
bearing  on  the  future  history  and  development  of  mankind,  may  be  appreci- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  349 

ated  fiDin  the  following  closing  passage  of  the  ninth  section  of  his  Voyages 
and   Discoveries: 

"II;ul  all  this  voyage  cost  hnt  the  salvation  of  a  single  soul,  I  should  deem 
all  my  fatigue  well  repaid.  And  this  I  have  reason  to  think ;  for,  when  I 
was  returning,  I  passed  by  the  Indians  at  Peoria.  I  was  three  days  announc- 
ing the  Faith  in  all  their  cabins,  after  which,  as  we  were  embarking,  they 
brought  me  to  the  water's  edge  a  dying  child,  which  I  baptized  a  little  before 
it  expired,  by  an  admirable  Provitlencc,  for  the  salvation  of  that  innocent 
soul." 

Father  Marquette  prepared  a  narrative  of  his  voyage  down  the  Missis- 
sippi (from  which  the  foregoing  quotation  is  taken)  and  a  map  of  that  river; 
and  on  his  return  transmitted  copies  to  his  superior,  by  the  Ottawa  flotilla  of 
that  year.  While  pursuing  the  homeward  journey  he  promised  the  Kaskaskia 
Indians,  who  then  occupied  towns  in  the  upper  valley  of  the  Illinois,  that  he 
would  return  to  teach  them  the  faith  which  he  announced.  His  health, 
broken  by  exposure  and  mission  labor  on  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  upper 
lakes,  was  very  frail,  but  he  had  no  idea  of  rest.  Devoted  in  an  especial 
manner  to  the  great  privilege  of  Mary — her  Immaculate  Conception — he 
named  the  great  artery  of  our  continent  The  River  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception, and  in  his  heart  bestowed  the  same  name  on  the  mission  which  he 
hoped  to  found  among  the  Kaskaskias. 

To  enter  upon  that  work,  so  dear  to  his  piety,  he  needed  permission 
from  his  distant  superior.  When  the  permission  came  he  took  leave  of  the 
Mackinac  mission  which  he  had  founded,  and  pushed  off  his  bark  canoe  into 
Lake  Michigan.  The  autumn  was  well  advanced — for  it  was  the  25th  of 
October,  1674 — atul  the  reddening  forests  swayed  in  the  ciiill  lake  winds  as 
he  glided  along  the  western  shore.  Before  he  reached  the  soutiiern  extremity 
winter  was  upon  him  with  its  cold  and  snows,  and  the  disease  which  had 
been  chcckcil,  but  not  conijuercd,  again  claimctl  the  frail  frame.  It  could  not 
((ucnch  his  courage,  for  lie  kept  on  in  his  open  canoe  on  the  wintry  lake  till 
the  4th  of  December,  when  he  reached  Chicago.  There  he  had  hoped  to 
ascend  the  river  and  by  a  portage  reach  the  Illinois.  It  was  too  late.  The 
ice  had  closed  the  stream,  and  a  winter  march  was  beyond  his  strength.  His 
two  men,  simple,  faithful  companions,  erected  a  log  hut,  home  and  cliapcl, 
the  Inst  dwelling  and  fust  church  of  Chicago.  Praying  to  Our  Lady  to 
enable  him  to  reach  his  destination,  offering  the  IIol^'  Sacrifice  whenever  his 
illness  permitted,  receiving  delegations  from   his  Hock,  the  Kaskaski;is,  the 


350  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

winter  waned  away  in  the  pious  foundation  of  the  white  settlement  at  Chicago. 
With  the  opening  of  spring  Marquette  set  out,  and  his  hist  letter  notes 
his  progress  till  the  6th  of  April,  1675.  Two  days  after  he  was  among  the 
Kaskaskias,  and,  rearing  his  altar  on  the  prairie  which  lies  between  the 
present  town  of  Utica  and  the  Illinois  River,  he  offered  up  the  Mass  on 
Maundy  Thursday,  and  began  the  instruction  of  the  willing  Indians  who 
gathered  around  him.  A  few  days  only  were  allotted  to  him,  when,  after 
Easter,  he  was  again  stricken  down.  If  he  woukl  ilic  in  the  arms  of  his 
brethren  at  Mackinac,  he  saw  that  he  must  depart  at  once;  for  he  felt  that 
the  days  of  his  sojourning  were  rapidly  closing.  Escorted  by  the  Kaskaskias, 
who  were  deeply  impressed  by  the  zeal  that  could  so  battle  with  death,  the 
missionary  reached  Lake  Michigan,  on  the  eastern  side.  Although  that  shore 
was  as  yet  unknown,  his  faithful  men  launched  his  canoe.  "  His  strength, 
however,  failed  so  much,"  says  Father  Dablon,  whose  words  we  shall  now 
quote,  "that  his  men  despaired  of  being  able  to  convey  him  alive  to  their 
journey's  end;  for,  in  fact,  he  became  so  weak  and  so  exhausted  that  he  could 
no  longer  help  himself,  nor  even  stir,  and  had  to  be  handled  and  carried  like 
a  child.  He  nevertheless  maintaineil  in  this  state  an  admirable  resignation, 
joy,  and  gentleness,  consoling  his  beloved  companions,  and  encouraging  them 
to  suffer  courageously  all  the  hardships  of  this  voyage,  assuring  them  that 
our  Lord  would  not  forsake  them  when  he  was  gone.  It  was  during  this 
navigation  that  he  began  to  prepare  more  particularly  for  death,  passing  his 
time  in  colloquies  with  our  Lord,  with  his  holy  Mother,  with  his  angel 
guardian,  or  with  all  heaven. 

"He  was  often  heard  pronouncing  these  words:  "  I  believe  that  my 
Redeemer  liveth,'  or  '  Mary,  Mother  of  grace,  Mother  of  God,  remember 
me  '  Besides  a  spiritual  reading  made  for  him  every  day,  he  toward  the 
close  asked  them  to  read  him  his  meditation  on  the  preparation  of  death, 
which  he  carried  about  him;  he  recited  his  breviary  every  day;  and  although 
he  was  so  low  that  both  sight  and  strength  had  greatly  failed,  he  tlid  no(  omit 
it  till  the  last  day  of  his  life,  when  his  companions  excited  his  scruples.  A 
week  before  his  death  he  had  the  precaution  to  bless  some  holy  water  to 
serve  him  during  the  rest  of  his  illness,  in  his  agony,  and  at  his  burial,  and  he 
instructed  his  companions  how  to  use  it. 

"On  the  eve  of  his  death,  which  was  a  Friday,  he  told  them,  all  radiant 
with  joy,  that  it  would  take  place  on  the  morrow.  During  the  whole  day 
he  conversed  with  them  about  the  manner  of  his  burial,  tjie  way  in  which  he 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  35I 

should  lie-  laid  out,  the  j^lacc  to  bo  selected  for  his  interment;  how  they  should 
arrange  his  hands,  feet,  and  face,  and  how  they  should  raise  a  cross  over  his 
grave.  lie  even  went  so  far  as  to  enjoin  them,  only  three  hours  before  he 
expired,  to  take  his  chapel  bell,  as  soon  as  he  was  dead,  and  ring  it  while 
they  carried  him  to  the  grave.  Of  all  this  he  spoke  so  calmly  and  collectedly 
that  you  would  have  thought  he  spoke  of  the  death  and  burial  of  another,  and 
not  his  own. 

"  Thus  did  he  speak  to  them  as  he  sailed  along  the  lake,  till,  perceiving 
the  mouth  of  a  river,  with  an  eminence  on  the  bank  which  he  thought  suited 
for  his  burial,  he  told  them  that  it  was  the  place  of  his  last  repose.  They 
wished,  however,  to  pass  on,  as  tne  weather  permi'.tcd  it  and  the  day  was  not 
far  advanced;  hut  God  raised  a  contrary  wind,  which  obliged  them  to  return 
;.nd  enter  the  river  which  the  father  had  designated. 

"  They  then  carried  him  ashore,  kindled  a  little  fire,  and  raised  a  wretched 
bark  cabin  for  his  use,  laying  him  in  it  with  as  little  discomfort  as  they  could} 
but  they  were  so  depressed  by  sadness  that,  as  they  afterwards  said,  they  did 
niil  Uiidw  what  they  were  doing. 

"The  father  being  thus  stretched  on  the  shore  like  St.  Francis  Xavier, 
as  he  had  always  so  ardently  desired,  and  left  alone  amid  those  forests — for 
his  companions  were  engaged  in  unloading — he  had  leisure  to  repeat  all  the 
acts  in  which  he  had  cmploNcd  himself  dming  the  preceding  days. 

"  When  his  dear  companions  afterwards  came  up,  all  dejected,  he  con- 
soled them,  and  gave  them  hopes  that  God  would  take  care  of  them  after  his 
death  in  those  new  and  unknown  countries;  he  gave  them  his  last  instruct- 
ionsjlhankcd  them  for  all  the  charity  they  had  shown  him  during  the  voyage, 
begged  their  pardon  for  the  trouble  he  had  given  them,  directed  them  aKo  to 
ask  pardon  in  his  name  of  all  our  fathers  and  brothers  in  the  Ottawa  country, 
and  then  disposed  them  to  receive  the  sacrament  of  Penance,  which  he  admin- 
istered to  them  for  the  last  time.  He  also  gave  them  a  paper  on  which  he 
had  written  all  his  faults  since  his  last  confession,  to  be  given  to  his  superior, 
U)  oblige  him  to  pray  to  God  more  earnestly  for  him.  In  line,  he  promised 
not  to  forget  them  in  heaven,  and  as  he  was  very  kind-haarteil,  and  knew 
them  to  be  worn  out  with  the  toil  of  the  preceding  days,  he  hade  them  go 
and  take  a  little  rest,  assuring  tliirn  that  his  hour  was  not  yet  so  near,  but 
that  he  would  wake  them  when  it  was  time— as,  in  fact,  he  did  two  or  three 
hours  aftc(,  calling  them  when  about  to  enter  into  his  agony. 

"  When  they  came  near  he  embracad  them  again  for  the  last  lime,  while 
they  melted  in  tears  at  his  feet.     He  then  asked  for  the  holy  water  and  his 


352  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

reliquary,  and,  taking  off  his  crucifix,  which  he  always  wore  hanging  from 
his  neck,  he  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  one  of  his  companions,  asking  him  to 
hold  it  constantly  opposite  him,  raised  before  his  eyes.  Feeling  that  he  liad 
but  a  little  while  to  live,  he  made  a  last  effort,  clasped  his  hands,  and,  with 
his  eyes  fixed  sweetly  on  his  crucifix,  he  pronounced  aloud  his  profession  of 
faith,  and  thanked  the  divine  Majesty  for  the  immense  favor  he  bestowed 
upon  him  in  allowing  him  to  die  in  the  Society  of  Jesus,  to  die  in  it  as  a  mis- 
sionary of  Jesus  Christ,  and  above  all  to  die  in  it,  as  he  had  always  asked,  in 
a  wretched  cabin,  amid  the  forests,  destitute  of  all  human  aid. 

"On  this  he  became  silent,  conversing  inwardly  with  God;  yet  from 
time  to  time  words  escaped  him:  'Sustinuit  anima  mea  in  verbo  ejus,'  or 
'Mater  Dei,  memento  mei,'  which  were  the  last  words  he  uttered  before  enter- 
ing into  his  agony,  which  was  very  calm  and  gentle. 

"He  had  prayed  his  companions  to  remind  him,  when  they  saw  him 
about  to  expire,  to  pronounce  frequently  the  names  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  if  he 
did  not  do  so  himself;  they  did  not  neglect  this;  and  when  they  thought  him 
about  to  pass  away  one  cried  aloud,  'Jesus!  Mary!'  which  he  several  times 
repeated  distinctly,  and  then,  as  if  at  those  sacred  names  something  had 
appeared  to  him,  he  suddenly  raised  his  eyes  above  his  crucifix,  fixing  them 
apparently  upon  some  object,  which  he  seemed  to  regard  with  pleasure;  and 
thus,  with  a  countenance  all  radiant  with  smiles,  he  expired  without  a  strug- 
gle, and  so  gently  that  it  might  be  called  a  quiet  sleep. 

"Thus  he  died,  the  great  apostle, 

Far  away  in  regions  west; 
By  the  lake  of  the  Algonquins 

Peacefully  his  ashes  rest; 
But  his  spirit  still  regards  us 

From  his  home  among  the  blest." 

Such  was  the  edifying  and  holy  death,  in  his  thirty-eighth  year,  of  the 
illustrious  explorer  of  the  Mississippi,  on  Saturday,  the  18th  of  May,  1675. 
"He  was  of  a  cheerful,  joj'ous  disposition,"  says  Dr.  Shea,  "playful  even  in  his 
manner,  and  universally  beloved.  His  letters  show  him  to  us  as  a  man  of 
education,  close  observation,  sound  sense,  strict  integrity,  a  freedom  from 
exaggeration,  and  yet  a  vein  of  humor  which  here  and  there  breaks  out  in 
spite  of  all  his  self-command." 

The  devoted  companions  of  the  illustrious  missionary,  happy,  in  the 
midst  of  their  bereavement,  in  the  privilege  of  witnessing  one  of  the  most 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


353 


heroic  and  saintly  deaths  recorded  in  the  history  of  our  race,  carried  out  every 
injunction  of  their  departed  father,  and  added  every  act  that  love  and  venera- 
tion could  suggest,  and  that  their  impoverished  condition  in  the  wilderness 
could  afford.  They  laid  out  his  remains  as  he  had  directed,  rang  the  little 
altar  bell  as  they  carried  him  with  profound  respect  to  the  mound  of  earth 
selected  by  himself,  interred  him  there,  and  raised  a  large  cross  to  mark  the 
sacred  spot. 

Father  James  Marquette  was  born  in  1637  at  Laon,  in  Picardy,  in  the 
present  department  of  Aisne,  where  his  family  had  long  held  a  distinguished 
rank.  His  mother  was  a  relative  of  Saint  John  Baptist  de  la  Salle,  the 
founder  of  the  Christian  schools.  Entering  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  1G54,  he 
was  for  twelve  years  employed  in  study  or  teaching;  then  exchanged  from 
his  province  of  Champagne  to  that  of  France,  he  came  to  Canada.  After 
studying  Montagnais,  under  Druillette,  he  went  to  the  west,  and  after  found- 
ing Sault  St.  Mary's,  became  the  missionary  of  the  Ottawas  and  Hurons  at 
Lapointe,  with  whom  he  removed  to  Mackinaw.  His  wanderings  we  have 
given.  Zealous,  laborious,  cheerful,  mild,  and  humble,  he  was  the  same  in 
life  as  in  death — forgetful  of  self.  His  last  thoughts  were  for  his  companions; 
his  last  entry  in  his  journal,  sympathy  for  the  sufiferings  of  the  traders.  Of 
his  own  he  never  spoke.  His  devotion  to  the  Immaculate  Conception  was 
wonderful.  He  never  wrote  a  letter  without  mentioning  it.  He  gave  that 
name  to  his  Illinois  mission,  and  to  the  great  river  which  he  dicsovered.  He 
died  on  the  19th  of  May,  1765,  aged  forty-eight. 

The  surviving  companions  of  the  deceased  now  prepared  to  embark.  One 
of  them  had  been  ill  for  some  time,  suffering  with  such  depression  of  spirits 
and  feebleness  of  body  that  he  could  neither  eat  nor  sleep.  Just  before 
embarking  he  knelt  at  the  grave  of  his  saintly  friend,  and  begged  him  to 
intercede  for  him  in  heaven  as  he  had  promised,  and,  taking  some  earth  from 
the  breast  of  the  departed  and  placing  it  upon  his  own  breast,  it  is  related  that 
he  felt  his  sadness  and  bodily  infirmity  immediately  depart,  and  he  resumed 
his  voyage  in  health  and  gla<lness.  Many  are  the  pious  traditions  of  miracu- 
lous results  attributed  to  the  sanctity  of  Father  Marquette. 

Tlie  remains  of  the  saintly  Jesuit  were,  two  years  afterwards,  disinterred 
by  his  own  flock,  the  Kiskakons,  while  returning  from  their  hunting-grounds, 
placed  in  a  neat  box  of  bark  and  reverently  carried  to  their  mission.  The  flotilla 
of  canoes,  as  it  passed  along  in  fimcral  solcmnitv.  was  joined  by  a  partv  of  the 
Iroquois,  and,  as  they  approached  Mackinaw,  many  other  canoes,  including 


354  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

those  of  the  two  missionaries  of  the  phice,  united  in  the  imposing  convoy,  and 
the  deep,  reverential  chant,  Dc  Profundis^  arose  heaven\v;n(I  from  ilie  bosom 
of  the  lake  until  the  body  reached  the  shore.  It  was  carried  in  proces'-ion 
with  cross,  burning  tapers,  and  fragrant  incense  to  the  church,  where  every 
possible  preparation  had  been  made  for  so  interesting  and  affecting  a  cere- 
mon\-;  and,  after  the  Requiem  service,  the  precious  relics  were  deposited  in  a 
vault  prepared  for  them  in  the  middle  of  the  church,  "where  he  reposes," 
says  the  pious  chronicler,  "  as  the  guardian  angel  of  our  Ottawa  missions." 
"  Ever  after,"  says  Bancroft,  "  the  forest  rangers,  if  in  danger  on  Lake  Mich- 
igan, would  invoke  his  name.  The  people  of  the  west  will  build  his 
monument." 

We  close  this  account  of  the  great  explorer-missionary  with  some  extracts 
from  another  Protestant  source.  They  are  from  a  recent  address  by  Mr. 
Franklin  McVeagh,  a  resident  of  Chicago,  and  a  scholarly  and  eloquent  gen- 
tleman, who  s.ays: 

Let  us  not  misconceive  the  spirit  and  lives  of  the  French  missionaries  in  North- 
America  because  of  our  familiarity  with  present  missionary  ideas  and  conditions.  We 
can  hardly  say  too  much  in  praise  of  contemporary  missionaries;  but  conditions  have 
cliangcd.  Marquette  and  his  compeers  traveled  on  snow-shoes  when  they  did  not  go 
barefoot ;  they  lived  on  moss  when  they  could  not  feast  upon  pounded  maize  ;  they  lived 
in  bark  huts  when  fortunate  enough  to  sleep  indoors,  and  they  died  of  labor  and  expo- 
sure when  they  were  not  murdered  by  the  Indians.  Their  missions  therefore  existed 
without  great  revenues,  and  the  most  they  asked  of  their  friends  at  home  was  prayers 
for  the  souls  they  had  come  to  save. 

Nor  let  us  fail  to  conceive  the  phenomenal  nobleness  of  these  Frenchmen 
because  they  were  heroes  and  martyrs  in  the  name  of  a  church  that  may  not  be  ours 
and  which  expresses  itself  in  ways  that  we  may  not  prefer.  Whosesoever  churcli  it  is, 
and  whosesoever  it  is  not,  it  is  at  least  a  great  church  and  beyond  compare;  and  it  has 
in  its  history  splendid  epochs,  when  it  commanded  greater  self-sacrifice  and  higher 
endeavor  than  Christianity  has  otherwise  known  since  its  first  lofty  days.  One  suih 
epoch,  raised  distinctly  above  the  level  of  the  centuries,  was  the  epoch  of  the  French 
Jesuits  in  North  America.  They  were  the  select  of  a  society  which  had  a  first  claim 
upon  the  most  fervent  souls.  The  records  of  humanity  will  be  sought  in  vain  for  the 
story  of  purer  lives,  of  more  steadfast  apostleship.  or  of  sterner  martyrdoms.  Jogues, 
Bressani,  Daniel,  Brebeuf,  Lallemant,  Garnier,  Marquette,  living  and  dying  ilhistrated 
he  loftiest  virtue  in  the  world.  No  praise  is  too  extravagant,  no  language  is  too  sa  red 
to  apply  to  them  They  were  a  "glorious  company  of  apostles;"  they  weie  a  "noble 
army  of  martyrs." 

When  Marquette  came  to  America  France  had  long  been  in  possession  of  Canada 
on  the  St. Lawrence  and  the  Lower  lakes;  and  the  time  was  at  hand  to  push  onward 
through  the  wilderness  to  the  Upper  lakes.  In  this  new  advance  Marquette  was  des- 
tined for  a  distinguished  part.  He  was  in  a  short  time  sent  into  this  frontier  field  the 
frontier  of  a  frontier.  There  he  spent  five  of  his  famous  seven 'years.  He  learned  six 
Indian  languages,  he  journeyed  widely,  he  established  missions  and  founded  towns,  he 
taught  and  preached.  In  brief,  he  led  the  life  of  a  Jesuit  missionary  in  the  wilds  of 
early  America.  Can  we  mistake  the  life  he  led.'  Five  years — five  years  in  the  wilds 
of  our  northern  lakes  two  hundred   years  ago — five    thousand    miles  from   home,   one 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  3^5 

thousand  miles  of  wilderness  from  even  a  semblance  of  France.  Kive  years  that  seem 
to  us  so  shori,  that  must  have  been  so  long.  Five  years  in  the  savage  north,  without 
one  day  of  home  or  France — without  one  hope  of  home  or  France.  Five  years  in 
which  this  cultured  mind  had  not  one  touch  with  culture,  in  which  this  loving  he.irt 
had  not  one  touch  of  love.  In  which  he  carried  his  life  in  his  hand  and  had  not  ne 
comfort  of  civilization  or  one  moment's  protection  of  law.  Five  years  in  which  per- 
ished every  dream  of  home  and  love.  Snow,  and  ice,  and  savages  for  five  winters. 
He  had  nothing  to  live  for  but  duty,  and  nothing  to  hope  for  but  death.  And  when  his 
magnificent  duty  was  done,  nothing  came  but  death.  Is  it  a  wonder  that  these  years, 
thouyh  they  only  confirmed  his  purpose,  to  devote  every  breath,  every  shred  of  his  life 
to  his  mission,  brought  him  broken  liealth  and  a  constitution  beyond  repair.'  This 
young  man  did  absolutely  what  he  could,  and  five  ardent  years  consumed  his  strength. 
A  fatal  malady  took  hold  upon  him,  and  though  in  the  next  two  years  he  grew  better 
and  worse,  at  the  end  he  died. 

Did  he  spend  his  invalid  life  in  repose.'  It  is  a  shame  to  ask  it.  These  two  ears 
are  the  years  especially  that  made  him  famous.  During  his  life  on  the  lakes,  in  the 
advance  of  the  French  movement  in  America,  he  conceived  and  faithfully  cherished 
the  design  of  discovering  the  Mississippi.  This  purpose  possessed  his  mind,  and  1  have 
sometimes  fancied  him  standing  upon  some  outlook  on  tlie  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  in 
the  full  expression  of  his  noble  spirit,  looking  into  the  west  and  feeding  his  lonely  soul 
with  visions  of  his  great  adventure.  Not,  however,  with  the  purpose  of  discovery  only 
was  his  mind  inflamed.  He  knew  the  political,  and  commercial,  and  scientific  impor- 
tance of  the  discovery, and  he  valued  it  for  the  sake  of  France.  But  he  longed  also  to 
carry  the  Gospel  to  the  far-away  tribes  on  the  banks  of  that  unknown  river,  and  to 
establish  a  mission  among  them.  It  is  this  double  purpose,  and  this  double  devotion 
that  distinguished  Marquette  from  other  great  discoverers  and  from  other  great  priests. 

After   describing  in  graphic  language  the  memorable  e.Noloration  of  the 

Mississippi  Valley,  Mr.  McVeagh  proceeds: 

It  was  no  holiday  excursion  to  him.  He  knew  the  hazard.  He  said  he  "gladly 
exposed  his  life,"  and  Marquette  never  boasted.  And  he  did  expose  his  life  for  days 
and  nights  continually  until  months  rolled  away.  Contemplate  the  little  band  of  seven 
exploring  twenty-seven  hundred  miles  through  a  region  of  savages  where  the  face  of  a 
civilized  man  had  never  been  seen  before.  Danger  on  every  side  of  them.  No  refuge 
anywhere  outside  of  their  steady  courage.  Among  a  people  trained  to  treachery  and 
with  whom  pity  has  no  prompter  when  policy  is  silent.  A  race  among  whom  the 
murder  of  a  stranger  was  not  a  crime;  among  whom  hospitality  does  not  include  the 
idea  of  protection;  whose  only  lenity  proceeds  from  fear  or  indifference.  Such  savages 
Marquette  found  before  him,  behind  him,  and  about  him  when  he  went  to  find  the  great 
river  and  to  carry  salvation  to  lost  nations  on  its  borders. 

Marquette's  health  was  now  completely  shattered.  He  did  not  repine.  He  was 
content.  He  had  done  his  duty.  He  had  served  God  and  his  country.  He  had,  he 
believed,  saved  souls,  and  had  done  a  great  service  to  the  future.  To  his  simple  soul 
that  was  enough  and  more  than  enough.  Nor  did  he  i(o  or  seek  to  go  to  (Quebec, 
where  praise  and  reputation  awaited  him.  He  did  not  attempt  to  place  his  great  service 
before  the  government.  He  stayed  at  Mackinac.  Nor  did  he  ever  go  to  Quebec  or 
France.  He  had  no  time  to  protect  his  fame.  His  remaining  days  were  too  short  and 
precious  to  be  given  to  personal  glory.  He  purposed  to  die  in  the  wilderness  doing  his 
duty.  Would  not  a  familiar  knowledge  of  such  a  man  be  of  untold  value  to  the  men 
and  the  youth  of  this  city.' 

Nursing  his  health  for  the  completion  of  his  long  cherished  design,  he  persuaded 
himself,  after  a  year  of  further  labor  at   Mackinac,  that  he  was  equal  to  the  one  task 


30 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  01-   THE 


which  especially  remained.  This  was  to  establish  to  the  honor  of  the  ^'irgin  and  the 
salvation  of  souls  a  mission  on  the  banks  of  the  Illinois.  This,  his  cherished  design, 
he  hoped  to  complete,  Icnowing  it  was  to  be  the  last  service  of  his  life — the  crowning 
sacrifice  of  those  two  last  years  that  have  brought  him  lasting  fame. 

He  journeyed  hundreds  of  miles  in  the  face  of  winter  into  the  lonely  and  savage 
wilderness.  In  November  or  December,  with  his  two  attendants,  he  reached  the 
Chicago  River.  Here  his  health  again  gave  way,  and  so  weak  and  ill  had  he  become 
that,  though  so  near  the  tribes  he  came  to  save,  he  could  go  no  further.  For  four 
months  he  lived  upon  the  desolate  banks  of  our  river  in  mid-winter.  His  faithful 
attendants  built  a  hut  in  which  he  lived.  Thus  Marquette  became  again  identified  with 
Chicago — this  time  as  the  first  civilized  resident  upon  its  site,  and  this  constitutes  the 
greatest  honor  of  which  this  city  can  boast. 

Lying  or  weakly  sitting  in  his  lonely  hut  on  the  banks  of  our  river,  the  whole 
desolate  region  covered  with  snow  and  ice,  with  savage  desolation  and  wilderness  all 
about  him,  himself  chilled  with  the  cruel  winter  winds  of  our  prairie  and  lake,  his 
health  long  since  gone,  and  his  strength  now  gone,  too,  and  death  standing  daily  at  his 
lonely  side,  the  great,  gentle  spirit  of  Marquette  never  revealed  itself  more  superbly. 
No  matter  his  misfortunes,  he  permitted  no  thought  but  of  his  duty;  no  matter  his 
helplessness,  he  contemplated  no  refuge  but  the  banks  of  the  Illinois.  He  spent  days 
and  nights  in  religious  devotions,  and  at  last  spent  nine  days  in  fasting  and  sacrifice 
that  the  Blessed  V'irgin  might  still  permit  him  to  carry  at  least  one  word  of  the  Gospel 
to  the  Indians  of  the  Illinois.     And  he  believed  the  Virgin  granted  his  prayer. 

Such  a  life  upon  the  site  of  this  city — the  first  civilized  life  in  its  history — should 
have  baptized  it  into  the  best  faith  of  humanity. 

About  the  end  of  March — the  year  was  1675 — he  felt  himself  revive  at  last,  and, 
having  faith  that  strength  would  be  vouchsafed  until  he  reached  his  goal,  he  journeyed 
to  Kaskaskia  — an  Indian  town  he  named  himself,  and  which  was  near  where  Ottawa,  or 
rather  Utica,  now  is.  Knowing  his  time  was  short  he  preached  and  taught  as  best  he 
could,  and  lost  no  time.  He  knew  he  should  not  preach  again.  When  he  had  taught 
and  preached  his  last  and  knew  his  end  was  near,  with  his  faithful  men  he  took  the 
way  to  Mackinac.  They  reached  our  lake  and  started  in  their  rude  canoes  around  its 
bend  and  up  its  eastern  shore.  They  journeyed  on,  a  speck  of  civilization  in  that  wide 
expanse  of  savage  lake  and  land,  and  as  they  paddled  their  canoes  one  afternoon  in 
that  lonely  springtime  the  good  Marquette,  who  calmly  felt  he  now  must  die,  asked 
his  men  to  take  him  to  the  shore  just  where  a  little  river,  since  fondly  named  for  him, 
ran  down  into  the  lake.  They  took  him  to  the  shore  and  built  a  birch-bark  hut  in 
which  he  might  lie  down  and  rest.  He  told  them,  though,  that  he  should  die,  and 
asked  that  they  would  make  his  grave  when  he  was  dead  near  where  he  lay.  He 
thanked  them  for  their  constant  kindness,  regretted  to  them  that  he  had  been  such 
trouble,  then  said  good-night  and  bade  them  go  and  sleep,  saying  that  he  would  call 
them  when  he  came  to  die.  In  the  middle  hours  of  that  same  night  a  quiet,  feeble 
voice  awaked  the  sleepers.  He  said  his  hour  had  come  at  last.  He  then  thanked  God 
that  He  permitted  him  to  die  a  missionary  in  the  wilderness;  then  asked  his  men  to 
hold  for  him  a  crucifix,  on  which  he  gazed  until  he  died.  Even  Mackinac — even  that 
much  of  home  and  love — he  dio  not  reach.  And  so  lived  and  died  Father  Marquette. 
Was  he  not  both  a  hero  and  martyr.' 

And  now  I  am  done.  Bancroft  has  said:  "The  West  will  build  his  monument."  I 
trust  it  may.  Noble,  gentle,  loving,  brave  Marquette!  Honors  paid  to  him  would 
have  the  peculiar  grace  of  honors  unsought  and  uncontemplated.  He  did  not  seek  to 
fill  a  great  place  among  his  contemporaries,  and  he  died  without  one  thought  of 
posterity  or  fame. 


Chapteir  XVIII. 


Dc  La  $allc  the  Explonen. 


DESCENT  FROM  Gallant  Stock.— Seeks  a  Life  of  Adventure.-  Foundation 
OF  A  Colony.— Honors  from  King  Loms.— Father  Hennepin's  Chapel. — 
Niagara  Falls  Discovered.  —  A  Council  and  a  Great  Journey.  —  Holy 
Sacrifice  at  Mackinaw  Island.— The  Iroquois  and  the  Miamis.— Down 
THB  Great  River  to  the  Gulf.— The  Return,  Revolt  and  Murder. 

,CARCELY  had  the  last  words  of  the  glorious  Marquette — 
"  Mother  of  God,  remember  me " — died  away  on  the  winds  of 
Michigan,  when  a  bold  and  devoted  spirit,  fired  by  the  fame  of 
previous  explorations,  was  meditating  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Ontario  the  prosecution  of  the  grand  work  begun  by  the  illustrious 
missionary.  A  Jesuit  father  had  led  the  way.  A  Catholic  noble- 
man now  advanced  to  complete  the  work. 

Robert  Cavelicr  de  la  Salle  was  born  in  the  city  of  Rouen,  France,  in 
1643.  He  belonged  to  an  old  and  wealthy  family.  It  is  said  that  in  early 
youth  he  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus,  in  which  he  remained  for  several  years 
studying  and  teaching.  Providence,  however,  destined  him  for  a  somewhat 
different  sphere  of  labor  and  usefulness,  but  one  having  a  close  relationship 
with  the  vast  work  of  the  church  among  mankind. 

La  Salle  had  a  great  fondness  for  the  exact  sciences,  especially  mathe- 
matics, in  which  he  was   remarkably   proficient;  and  he  left  the  seminary  of 

357 


358  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  Jesuit  fathers  carrying  witli  him  the  highest  testimonials  of  his  superiors,  for 
purity  of  character,  excellent  acquirements,  and  an  energy  seldom  matched.  On 
account,  however,  of  having  been  connected  with  the  religious  state,  he  was  by 
a  new  and  unjust  provision  of  the  French  law,  deprived  of  nearly  all  his  fortune. 

He  h:ul  ani'ldci-  brother  in  C;ina(bi,  the  ,\l)bc  John  Cavelier,  a  priest  of 
St.  Sidpice.  Apparently  it  was  this  that  siiaped  his  destinies.  His  family 
made  him  an  allowance  of  foin-  hundred  livrcs  a  year,  the  capital  of  which  was 
paid  over  to  him;  and  with  this  pittance  in  his  pocket,  he  sailed  for  Canada 
to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  spring  of  1666. 

La  Salle  obtained  from  the  Sulpitian^  the  grant  of  a  large  tract  of  land, 
about  nine  miles  from  Montreal.  Here  he  began  a  village  which  he  called 
La  Chine,  and  which  to  this  day  retains  the  suggestive  name.  He  also 
explored  a  little,  and  began  the  study  of  the  Indian  languages.  It  is  said  that 
in  two  or  three  years  he  became  quite  familiar  witli  the  Huron,  Algonquin, 
and  five  or  six  other  native  dialects. 

At  that  titne  the  whole  of  the  great  Northwest  of  the  United  States  was 
an  entirely  unknown  land.  No  one  had  the  slightest  idea  as  to  whether  the 
continent  of  North  America  was  2,000  or  10,000  miles  in  breadth.  It  was  the 
general  impression,  however,  that  the  waves  of  tlie  Pacific  were  dashing 
against  the  rocks  a  few  miles  west  of  the  chain  of  Great  Lakes  which  washed 
the  southern  shores  of  Canada.  La  Salle  was  meditating  an  expedition  up 
the  St.  Lawrence,  through  those  sparkling  seas  of  fresh  water  to  Lake  Supe- 
rior, from  the  western  end  of  which  he  confidently  expected  to  find  easy  com- 
munication with  the  Pacific  Ocean.  There  he  would  again  spread  his  advent- 
urous sail,  having  discovered  a  new  route  to  China  and  the  East  Indies. 

There  was  grandeur  in  this  conception.  It  would  entirely  change  the 
route  of  the  world's  commerce.  It  would  make  the  French  possessions  in 
the  New  World  valuable  beyond  conception.  This  all  important  thorough- 
fare between  Europe  and  Asia,  across  America,  would  be  under  the  control 
of  the  French  crcwn,  and  France  would  be  the  leader  of  commerce.  So 
thought  the  patriotic  and  enterprising  genius  of  La  Salle. 

In  the  winter  of  1670,  La  Salle  organized  an  expedition  which  included 
some  Sulpitian  priests,  and  proceeded  towards  the  southwest.  La  Chine  was 
the  starting-point.  The  accounts  of  this  voyage  are  rather  vague.  It  is 
certain,  however,  that  he  discovered  the  Ohio,  down  which  he  sailed  as  far 
as  the  present  site  of  Louisville.  Here  his  men  refused  to  go  further,  left 
bim,  and  the  youthful  explorer  returned  alone  to  Canada. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  359 

We  next  find  him  commander  of  the  newly  established  Fort  Fiontenac 
— now  Kingston.  He  held  this  position  when  the  tidings  of  Marquette's 
discovery  of  the  Mississippi  first  reached  his  cars.  It  was  a  welcome  idea. 
It  suggested  new  trains  of  thought.  The  quick,  penetrating  intellect  of  La 
Salle  at  once  identified  "  the  great  river  of  Marijuette  with  the  great  liver  of 
De  Soto."  It  was,  in  truth,  a  fresJT  impulse  to  his  vast  schemes  of  explor- 
ation. 

Three  thoughts,  rapidlj'  developing  in  his  mind,  were  mastering  La 
Salle,  and  engendering  an  invincible  purpose:  (i.)  He  would  achieve  that 
which  Champlain  had  vainly  attempted,  and  of  which  our  own  generation 
has  but  seen  the  accomplishment — the  opening  of  a  passage  to  India  and 
China  across  the  American  Continent.  (2.)  He  would  occupy  the  Great 
West,  develop  its  commercial  resources,  and  anticipate  the  Spanish  and 
English  in  the  possession  of  it.  (3.)  He  would  establish  a  fortified  post  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  thus  securing  an  outlet  for  the  trade  of  the 
interior,  checking  the  progress  of  the  Spaniards,  and  forming  a  base  whence 
in  time  of  war  their  northern  provinces  could  be  invaded  and  conquered. 
Such  were  the  great  projects  conceived  and  nursed  in  the  fertile  brain  of 
this  heroic  but  penniless  young  Frenchman! 

In  the  autumn  of  1674,  La  Salle  went  to  France  with  strong  letters  of 
recommendation  from  the  Count  de  Frontenac,  governor  of  Canada.  Writ- 
ing to  the  minister  Colbert,  Frontenac  sa3's:  "I  cannot  help,  Monseigncur, 
recommending  to  you  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle,  who  is  about  to  goto  France,  and 
who  is  a  man  of  intelligence  and  ability — more  capable  than  any  one  else  I 
know  here  to  accomplish  every  kind  of  enterprise  and  discovery  which  may 
be  intrusted  to  him.  He  has  the  most  perfect  knowledge  of  the  state  of  the 
country,  as  you  will  see,  if  you  are  disposed  to  give  him  a  few  moments  of 
an  audience." 

He  was  well  received  at  court,  and  made  two  petitions  to  the  king — 
one  for  a  patent  of  nobility,  in  consideration  of  his  services  as  an  explorer; 
the  other  for  a  grant  in  seigniory  of  Fort  Frontenac.  On  his  p'art.  La  Salle 
offered  to  pay  back  the  10,000  francs  which  the  fort  h.ad  cost  the  government; 
to  maintain  it  at  his  own  charge,  with  a  garrison  equal  to  that  of  Montreal, 
besides  fifteen  or  twenty  laborers;  to  form  a  French  colony  around  it;  to 
build  a  Catholic  church  whenever  the  number  of  inhabitants  should  reach 
onehuntlred;  and,  meanwhile,  to  support  one  or  more  Franciscan  fathers, 
and,  finally,  to  form  a  settlement  of  domesticated  Indians  in  the  neighborhood. 


36o  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

His  offers  were  accepted.  He  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  an  untitled  noble, 
received  a  grant  of  the  fort  and  lands  adjacent  to  the  extent  of  four  leagues 
in  front  and  a  half  a  league  in  depth,  besides  the  neighboring  islands;  ai;d  he 
was  invested  with  the  government  of  the  fort  and  settlement,  subject,  how- 
ever, to  the  orders  of  the  governor-general. 

When  La  Salle  gained  possession  of  Fort  Frontenac,  writes  Parkman, 
he  secured  a  base  for  all  his  future  enterprises.  That  he  meant  to  make  it  a 
permanent  one,  is  clear  from  the  pains  he  took  to  strengthen  its  defenses. 
Within  two  years  from  the  date  of  his  grant  he  had  replaced  the  hasty  pali- 
sade fort  of  Count  Frontenac  by  a  regular  work  of  hewn  stone,  of  which, 
however,  only  two  bastions,  with  their  connecting  curtains,  were  completed, 
the  inclosure  on  the  water-side  being  formed  of  pickets. 

Within  there  was  a  barrack,  a  well,  a  mill,  and  a  bakery ;  while  a  wooden 
block-house  guarded  the  gateway.  Near  the  shore,  south  of  the  fort,  was  a 
cluster  of  small  houses  of  French  habitans;  and  farther,  in  the  same  direction, 
was  the  Indian  village.  Two  officers  and  a  surgeon,  with  a  half  a  score  or 
more  of  soldiers,  made  up  the  garrison;  and  three  or  four  times  that  number 
of  masons,  laborers,  and  canoemen,  were  at  one  time  maintained  at  the  fort. 
Besides  these,  there  were  two  Franciscan  fathers,  Luke  Buisset  and  Louis 
Hennepin.  La  Salle  built  a  house  for  them  near  the  fort,  and  they  turned  a 
part  of  it  into  a  chapel. 

Partly  for  trading  on  the  lake,  partly  with  a  view  to  ulterior  designs,  he 
caused  four  small-decked  vessels  to  be  built,  but,  for  ordinary  uses,  canoes 
best  served  his  purpose,  and  his  followers  became  so  skillful  in  managing 
them,  that  they  were  reputed  the  best  canoemen  in  America.  Feudal  lord  of 
the  forest  around  him,  commander  of  a  garrison  raised  and  paid  by  himself, 
founder  of  the  mission,  patron  of  the  Church,  La  Salle  reigned  the  autocrat 
of  his  lonely  little  empire. 

But  he  had  no  thought  of  resting  here.  He  had  gained  what  he  sought, 
a  fulcrum  for  bolder  and  broader  action.  His  plans  were  ripened  and  his 
time  was  come.  He  was  no  longer  a  needy  adventurer,  disinherited  of  all 
but  his  fertile  brain  and  his  intrepid  heart.  He  had  won  place,  influence, 
credit,  and  potent  friends.  Now,  at  length,  he  might  hope  to  find  the  long- 
sought  path  to  China  and  Japan,  and  secure  for  France  those  boundless 
regions  of  the  west,  in  whose  watery  highways  he  saw  his  road  to  wealth, 
renown,  and  power. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year   1677,  La  Salle  returned  to  France  to 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  361 

report  the  progress  of  his  undertakings,  and  to  raise  fresh  supplies.  At  the 
court  his  reception  was  most  cordial.  The  king  gave  him  new  honors  and 
more  extended  privileges.  His  wealthy  relatives  advanced  large  sums  of 
money.  lie  bought  supplies  and  engaged  men.  Among  these  was  one 
worth  all  the  rest — Henry  de  Tonti,  an  Italian  officer,  who  was  strongly 
recommended  to  La  Salle  by  the  Prince  de  Gondii.  He  was  a  man  whose 
energy  and  address  made  him  equal  to  anything. 

La  Salle  sailed  from  La  Rochelle,  and  in  the  fall  of  1678  landed  at 
Quebec.  Here  a  number  of  Canadian  boatmen  joined  his- party.  He  sent 
them  forward  to  Fort  Frontenac,  which  was  now  really  his  castle,  with  the 
surrounding  wilderness  as  his  estate.  The  boats  were  heavily  laden  with  all 
articles  necessary  for  trading  with  the  Indians,  and  with  everything  essential 
to  the  building  and  rigging  of  vessels. 

The  commander  himself  soon  followed.  He  proceeded  in  a  birch-bark 
canoe,  with  only  one  or  two  companions.  It  was  a  long  and  perilous  voyage. 
The  hardy  pioneers  patiently  stemmed  the  swift  currents  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
struggled  against  its  rapids,  glided  silently  along  its  lonely  forest-fringed 
shores,  and  several  times  came  very  near  being  wrecked. 

At  the  close  of  each  day,  it  was  always  necessary  to  run  the  canoes 
ashore  and  encamp.  But  with  men  fond  of  adventure  these  were  pleasures 
rather  than  pains.  In  half  an  hour  their  keen  axes  constructed  a  sheltering 
camp.  The  brilliant  fire  dispelled  all  gloom.  The  fragrant  twigs  of  the  pine 
or  hemlock  furnished  a  soft  couch.  Here  they  cooked  supper,  sang  songs, 
told  stories;  and,  perhaps,  enjoyed  as  much  pleasure  as  is  usually  found  in  the 
parlors  of  the  great  and  the  wealthy. 

Indian  villages,  in  those  days,  were  quite  profusely  scattered  along  the 
banks  of  this  majestic  river.  The  scene  was  often  quite  exciting  as  the  canoe 
of  the  voyagers  approached  one  of  these  clusters  of  picturesque  wigwams  in 
the  evening  twilight.  The  Indians  were  fond  of  songs  and  dances,  and  the 
blaze  of  the  crackling  bonfire.  The  whole  expanse  of  river,  cliff,  and  forest 
would  be  lighted  up.  The  gay  shouts  of  the  barbaric  revelry  echoed  through 
the  grand  solitudes ;  and  the  dusky  warrior,  squaw,  anil  papoose  flitted  about 
in  all  the  varied  enjoyment  of  savage  life  and  leisure. 

Fort  Frontenac  was  reached  in  safety.  On  the  iSth  of  November, 
La  Salle  sent  a  small  vessel  of  ten  tons,  with  a  deck,  to  go  to  the  farther 
extremity  of  Lake  Ontario,  a  distance  of  about  two  hundred  miles,  and  to 
ascend  the  Niagara  River  until  the  famous  falls  were  reached.   This  little  craft 


3C3  TRIALS  ASD    TRIUMPHS   OP   THE 

contained  about  thirty  workmen,  with  provisions  ami  iinplcnicnts  for  erecting 
a  tort,  anil  hiilldiii<;;  a  vessel  heyonil  the  falls,  at  t'/.c  eastern  end  of  Lake  Eiie. 
Ahmit  ten  years  previously — in  1669 — La  Salle,  while  on  an  explorinj^ 
tonr  with  a  party  of  missionaries,  had  discovered  Niagara  Falls.  Galin(5e,  in 
his  journal  of  this  CNpcdition  writes:  "We  found  a  river  one-eighth  of  a 
league  liroad  and  extremely  rapid,  forming  the  outlet  fiom  Lake  Erie  to 
Lake  Ontario.  The  depth  is  extraordinary.  W'e  fouml  close  to  the  shore 
fifteen  or  sixteen  fathoms  of  water.  This  outlet  is  forty  miles  long.  It  has, 
from  ten  to  twelve  miles  above  its  entrance  into  Lake  Ontario,  one  of  the 
finest  cataracts  in  the  world.  .Ml  the  Indians  say  that  the  river  falls  from  a 
rock  higher  than  the  tallest  pines.  We  heard  the  roar  at  the  distance  of  ten 
or  twelve  miles.  The  fall  gives  such  a  momentum  to  the  water  that  its  cur- 
rent prevented  our  ascending,  except  with  great  difliculty.  The  current 
above  the  falls  is  so  rapid  that  it  often  sucks  in  deer  and  stags,  elk  and  roe- 
buck, in  tiieir  eff.>rtsto  cross  the  river,  and  overwhelms  thuin  in  its  frightful 
aliyss." 

This  is  the  earliest  known  description  of  Niagara  Falls,  and  it  is  but  right 
to  add  that  it  is  from  the  pen  of  a  C.itholic   missionary. 

La  S..!!e  joined  his  companions  ai  llic  head  of  the  Niagara  River  on  the 
borders  of  I  ake  Erie.  It  was  then  the  29th  of  January,  1679.  The  river 
above  the  falls  was  one  sheet  of  ice,  and  resembled  a  plain  paved  with  finely- 
polished  marble.  The  Indians  received  the  Frenchmen  with  much  friendliness. 
All  the  goods  were  to  be  transported  through  a  trail  of  the  forest,  cov- 
ered with  deep  snov\',  around  the  falls,  a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles.  It 
was  to  be  done  on  the  shoulders  of  men.  The  savages  kindly  aided  in  these 
herculean  labors,  and  were  amply  repaid  for  days  of  toil  by  the  present  of  a 
knife,  a  hatchet,  or  a  few  trinkets,  as  dear  and  valuable  to  them  as  are 
(jcarls  and  (.liamonds  to  a  vain  duchess.  La  Salle  constructed  a  fortitled  depot 
:il  this  place  to  serve  as  a  base  for  future  operations.  Here  he  could  store 
such  additional  supplies  as  he  might  order  from  Fort  Frontenac. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1679,  La  Salle,  accompanied  by  his  long  train 
of  heavily  laden  men,  in  single  file,  reached  his  large  log-cabin  and  ship-vard 
in  the  midst  of  a  dense  forest  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie.  They  carried 
upon  their  backs  provis  ons,  merchandise,  ammunition,  and  materials  for  rig- 
ging the  vessel.  The  dock-yard — it  could  hardly  be  called  a  fort — was  about 
six  mibs  above  Nia.^ara  Falls,  on  the  western  side  of  the  river,  at  the  outlet 
af  a  little  stream  now  called  Cayuga  Creek. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /:V  AMERICA  363 

Everything  was  soon  prepared  for  the  building  of  the  vessel.  La  Salle 
laid  the  keel  with  his  own  hands,  and  drove  the  first  bolt.  He  had  no 
thought,  however  of  encroaching  upon  the  lands  of  the  Indians.  His  was  to 
be  no  warlike  conquest.  The  object  of  his  expedition  was  solely  to  make 
discoveries  in  the  name  of  France.  His  grand  ambition  was  to  see  the  ban- 
ner of  France  proudly  float  over  the  great  lakes  and  the  rich  and  boundless 
West. 

With  a  sagacity  quite  characteristic,  he  summoned  a  council  of  the  chiefs 
of  all  the  neighboring  tribes. 

"  I  come  to  you,"  he  said,  "as  a  friend  and  brother.  I  wish  to  buy  your 
furs.  I  will  pay  for  them  in  guns  and  powder,  knives,  hatchets,  kettles, 
beads,  and  such  other  articles  as  you  want.  You  can  do  me  good  and  I  can 
do  you  good.  We  can  be  brothers.  I  am  building  a  vessel,  that  I  may  visit 
other  tribes,  buy  their  furs,  and  carry  our  goods  to  them.  Let  us  shake 
hands  and  smoke  the  pipe  of  friendship.  The  Great  Spirit  will  be  pleased 
to  see  us,  His  children,  help  each  other  and' love  each  other.  I  wish  to  estab- 
lish a  trading-post  here,  where  I  can  collect  my  furs,  and  where  you  can 
come  to  sell  them.  And  here  you  will  find  mechanics  who  will  mend  your 
guns,  knives,  and  kettles  when  they  get  out  of  order." 

These  were  honest  and  convincing  words.  All  smoked  the  pipe  of 
peace  and  grasped  hands  in  token  of  fraternity.  The  Frenchman,  far  from 
being  an  enemy,  was  a  benefactor.  1 1  is  life  was  to  be  carefully  protected. 
Should  he,  from  unkind  treatment,  refuse  to  come  to  their  country,  they 
could  bu}-  no  more  guns,  or  knives,  or  kettles;  and  henceforth  every  wigwam 
w  elcomed  the  entrance  of  a  Frenchman. 

During  the  construction  of  the  new  vessel  La  Salle  was  absent  attending 
to  other  matters  of  importance,  and  the  work  progressed  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  his  lieutenant,  Tonti.  In  the  spring  she  was  ready  for  launching. 
Father  llennei)in  gave  her  his  blessing;  the  cannons  were  fired,  and  amiil  the 
wild  shouts  of  Indians,  anil  the  solemn  chant  of  the  Tr  /)<■««/,  she  gliiled 
safely  into  the  Niagara  Ri\cr.  La  .Salle  named  Iki'  the  {jritliii,  in  honor  of 
the  Count  de  Frontenac's  armorial  bearings. 

On  the  7th  of  August,  1679,  the  \oyagers,  thirty-four  in  all,  embarkeil, 
and  with  swelling  canvas  the  Grillin  ploughed  the  virgin  waves  of  Lake 
Erie,  where  sail  was  never  seen  before.  For  three  days  they  held  tiieir 
course  over  these  unknown  waters,  and  on  the  fourth  turned  northward  into 
the  Strait  of   Detroit.     Here,  on   the  right  hand  and  on    the  left,  lay    verdant 


364  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

prairies,  dotted  with  groves,  and  bordered  witli  lofty  forests.  They  saw 
wahiut,  chestnut,  and  wild-plum  trees,  and  oak  festooned  with  grape  vines; 
herds  of  deer,  and  Hocks  of  swans  and  wild  turkeys.  The  bulwarks  of  the 
Grillln  were  plentifully  hung  with  game  which  the  men  killed  on  shore,  and 
among  the  rest  with  a  number  of  bears,  much  commended  by  Father  Hennc- 
pin  for  their  want  of  ferocity  and  the  excellence  of  their  flesh.  "  Those," 
he  says,  "  who  will  one  day  have  the  happiness  to  possess  this  fertile  and 
pleasant  strait,  will  be  very  much  obliged  to  those  who  have  shown  them  the 
way."  They  crossed  Lake  St.  Clair,  and  still  sailed  northward  against  the 
current,  till  now,  sparkling  in  the  sun.  Lake  Huron  spread  before  them 
like  a  sea. 

After  bravely  weathering  a  violent  hurricane  of  several  days'  duration, 
the  Griffin  reached  Mackinaw.  On  La  Salle's  arrival  at  tnis  old  mission 
center,  the  Indians  were  about  to  run  away  in  fright.  The  cause  of  it  all 
was  the  vessel  and  her  white,  flapping  sails;  but  when  they  heard  the  roar  of 
the  cannon,  their  terror  and  astonishment  were  indescribable. 

The  party  now  landed  in  state,  and  marched  under  arms,  to  the  bark 
chapel  of  the  Ottawa  village,  where  Mass  was  celebrated.  La  Salle  knelt 
before  the  altar,  dressed  in  a  mantle  of  scarlet,  bordered  with  gold.  Around 
him  on  every  side  were  kneeling  sailors,  artisans,  hardy  bush-rangers,  and 
painted  savages.     It  was  a  devout  but  motley  congregation. 

The  Griffin  proceeded  on  her  voyage,  and  on  the  2d  of  September  cast 
anchor  in  Green  Bay.  This  was  the  destination  of  the  travelers,  so  far  as 
they  could  proceed  by  water  and  make  use  of  their  vessel.  La  Salle  had 
come  to  this  trading-post  to  collect  the  furs,  which  had  been  brought  here 
from  the  interior,  and  having  laden  the  Griffin  with  them,  in  order  to  satisfy 
his  clamoring  creditors,  he  dispatched  her  for  Niagara,  with  the  "  richest 
cargo  that  had  yet  been  borne  on  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie." 

La  Salle  and  his  men  now  directed  their  course  towards  the  south.  On 
reaching  Lake  Peoria,  on  the  Illinois  River,  he  began  the  construction  of  a 
fort  to  which  he  gave  the  sad  name  of  Cr^vecoeur,  or  the  "  Broken-hearted." 
This  was  the  first  civilized  occupation  of  the  region  which  now  forms  the  State 
of  Illinois.  The  spot  may  still  be  seen  a  little  below  Peoria.  Cr(5vecceur  tells 
of  disaster  and  suffering,  but  does  no  justice  to  the  iron-hearted  constancy  of 
the  sufferer.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  clung  to  the  hope  that  his  vessel,  the 
Griffin,  might  still  be  safe.  Her  safety  was  vital  to  his  enterprise.  She  had 
on   board    articles  of  the    last   necessity    to    him,  including  the  rigging  and 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  365 

anchors  of  another  vessel,  which  he  was  to  build  at  Fort  Crdvecocur,  in  order 
to  descend  the  Mississippi,  and  sail  thence  to  the  West  Indies.  Here  his  last 
hope  had  vanished.  She  was  doubtless  lost;  and  in  her  loss  he  and  all  his 
plans  seemed  ruined  alike. 

La  Salle's  supplies  were  now  exhausted.  He  depended  on  the  return  of 
his  vessel  for  more.  One  path,  beset  with  hardships  and  terrors,  still  lay 
open  to  him.  He  might  return  on  foot  to  Fort  Frontenac,  through  over 
twelve  hundred  miles  of  a  wilderness,  and  bring  thence  the  needful  succors. 
Leaving  Tonti  to  command  in  his  absence,  he  set  out,  accompanied  by  four 
Frenchmen  and  a  Mohegan  Indian. 

It  was  early  in  March,  16S0.  The  journey  was  really  terrifying.  Sixty- 
five  days  of  toil  and  misery  passed  before  they  reached  Niagara  Falls.  All 
but  La  Salle  were  overcome  with  disease  and  exhaustion.  The  following  is 
a  glimpse  of  some  of  the  ordeals  through  which  they  passed.  It  is  from  the 
pen  of  La  Salle,  himself: 

"At  noon  on  the  25th,"  he  writes,  "we  resumed  our  walk  through  the 
woods,  wiiich  were  so  matted  with  thorns  and  brambles  that  in  two  and  a 
half  days  our  clothes  were  torn  to  tatters,  and  our  faces  so  scratched  that  we 
hardly  knew  each  other.  On  the  28th  the  woods  were  more  open  and  we 
began  to  fare  better,  meeting  a  good  (juantity  of  game,  such  as  deer,  bears, 
and  turkeys,  which  we  had  not  found  before,  so  that  we  had  often  traveled 
from  morning  till  night  without  breakfast." 

The  indomitable  travelers  were  now  crossing  the  southern  part  of  Mich- 
igan. Indians  were  following  tiiem,  and,  to  throw  the  savages  off  the  track, 
they  set  fire  to  the  dry  grass  of  the  meadows  through  \vhich  tiiey  passed,  to 
wipe  out  any  marks  of  their  trail. 

"  VVe  did  this,"  continued  La  Salle,  "every  night.  It  answered  very 
well  so  long  as  we  found  open  fields;  but  on  the  30th  we  got  into  great 
marshes  flooded  by  tiie  thaws,  and  were  forced  to  wade  through  them  in  mud 
and  water,  so  that  our  tracks  were  seen  by  a  band  of  Maskoutins  who  were 
out  after  Iroquois.  They  followed  us  through  the  marshes  during  the  three 
days  we  were  crossing  them,  but  we  made  no  fire  at  night,  merely  taking  off 
our  soaked  clothes,  and  wrapping  ourselves  in  our  blankets  on  some  dry  knoll 
where  we  slept. 

"But  as  there  was  an  uncommonly  sharp  frost  on  the  night  of  the  2d  of 
April,  and  as  our  clothes,  wiiich  were  completely  saturated,  were  stiff  as 
sticks  in  the  morning,  we  could  not  put  them  on   without   making  a  fire  to 


366  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

ihaw  them.  This  betr.aycd  us  to  llic  Indians,  who  were  encamped  across  the 
marsh.  They  ran  towards  us  witli  loud  cries,  hut  were  stopped  half-way  by 
a  water  course  which  they  could  not  get  over,  as  the  ice  was  not  strong 
enough. 

"We  went  towards  liioni  within  gunsliot,  and,  whether  our  fire-arms 
frightened  them,  or  wliclhcr  slicy  thought  there  were  more  uf  us  than  there 
really  were,  or  whether,  in  fact,  they  meant  us  no  harm,  they  called  out  in 
the  Illinois  language  that  they  had  taken  us  for  Iroquois,  but  now  saw  that 
we  were  brothers,  whereupon  they  went  off  as  they  came,  and  we  kept  on 
our  wav  till  the  4th,  when  two  of  my  men  fell  sicU  and  could  not  travel." 

This  is  but  one  of  a  hundred  examples  that  might  be  cited— examples 
which  show  the  daring  energy  and  heroic  nature  of  La  Salle.  But  his  mettle 
was  tried  to  the  utmost.  In  about  seventy  days  he  reached  Fort  Frontenac 
and  the  most  distressing  intelligence  filled  his  ears  from  every  side. 

The  loss  of  the  GritKn  was  confirmed.  The  news  of  disaster  after  dis- 
aster fell  upon  him  like  an  avalanche.  His  agents  had  plundered  him,  his 
creditors  had  seized  his  property,  a  band  of  laborers  on  the  way  to  join  him 
had  been  persuaded  to  desert,  some  of  his  canoes  richly  laden  with  furs  had 
been  lost  in  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  a  ship  from  France,  freighted 
with  goods  to  the  value  of  32,000  livres,  had  been  totally  wrecked. 

Yet  every  dilllculty  had  given  way  before  the  indomitable  La  Salle. 
He  had  succeeded  in  collecting  men,  canoes,  and  supplies,  and  was  on  the 
point  of  hastening  back  as  he  had  come,  for  the  relief  of  Tonti  and  the  men 
left  with  him  at  Fort  Crevecoeiu,  on  the  Illinois,  when  two  Canadians,  dis- 
patched by  that  officer,  brought  him  worse  tidings  than  all  the  rest.  Tonti 
wrote  that  nearly  all  his  men  had  deserted,  after  destroying  the  fort,  plunder- 
ing the  magazine  and  throwing  into  the  river  all  the  arms,  goods,  and  stores 
tiiat  they  could  not  carry  off. 

La  Salle  lost  no  time  in  lamentation.  He  soon  learned  that  the  desert- 
ers had  passed  Niagara  and  were  on  the  way  to  Fort  Frontenac,  where  he 
then  was,  intending  to  kill  him  wherever  they  might  find  him,  as  the  surest 
way  to  escape  punishment.  He  did  not  await  their  approach,  but  went  to 
meet  them  with  such  men  as  he  had,  discovered  them  on  Lake  Ontario,  and 
captured  all  but  two,  who  made  fight  and  were  shot  by  his  followers.  This 
was  one  point  gained. 

Like  a  brave  commander  he  next  bent  all  his  thoughts  to  succoring 
Tonti  and  the  three  or  four  faithful  men  who  remained  with  him  at  the  lUi- 


CATHOLIC  CIICRCII  IX  AMERICA  367 

nois.  A  dcop  anxiety  posscssC'I  liim.  I'^or  some  liir.c  past  a  rumor  liad 
spread  that  llie  Iiuquois,  encouraged,  as  he  believed,  i>y  his  enemies,  weie 
preparing  a  grand  inroad  into  the  valley  of  the  Illinois,  which  threatened  to 
involve  in  a  common  destruction  the  tribes  of  that  quarter  and  the  infaht  col- 
ony of  La  S.dle.     The  danger  was  but  too  real. 

He  was  but  iialf-way  to  his  destination  when  a  host  of  Iroquois  war- 
riors fell  upon  Tonti  and  his  Imlian  allies,  and  lilled  the  valley  of  the  Illinois 
with  carnage  antl  devastation.  When,  after  3.  long  and  weary  journey, 
the  dauntless  La  Salle  and  his  followers  reached  the  great  town  of  the  Illi- 
nois, where  he  hoped  to  Inid  his  lieutenant,   he   beiuid   a  most  ghastly  scene. 

"On  the  I  St  of  Decetnber,"  he  says,  "we  arrived  near  evening  at  the 
town,  and  found  nothing  but  ashes  and  the  relics  of  Iroquois  fury.  Every- 
thing was  destroyed,  and  notliing  remained  but  the  stumps  of  burned  lodge- 
poles,  which  showed  what  had  been  the  extent  of  the  village,  and  on  most  of 
which  were  stuck  tlead  men's  heads,  half-eaten  by  tlie  crows.  The  fields  were 
strewn  with  carcasses  gnawed  by  wolves.  The  scaffolds  on  which  the  dead 
had  been  placed  in  the  cemetery  were  all  torn  down,  and  such  of  the  bodies 
r.s  had  been  buried  were  dug  up  and  scattered  over  the  ground.  The  wolves 
,vere  tearing  them  before  our  eyes  witii  strange  h(,wlin^s."' 

La  Salle  and  his  men  sought  till  night  for  traces  of  Tonti  and  his  few 
jomp  inions,  but  in  vain  they  searched.  Tonti  was  not  to  be  found.  They 
encamped  on  the  spot.  "  I  passed  the  night  full  of  trouble,"  writes  the  great 
explorer.  "  I  could  not  sleep,  but  tried  in  vain  to  make  up  mv  mind  as  to 
what  1  ought  to  do." 

But  he  was  no  dreamer.  Ever  "up  and  tloing,  with  a  heart  for  any 
fate,"  he  again  set  out  in  search  for  his  lieutenant,  and  passed  down  the  Illi- 
nois till  he  came  to  the  Mississippi.  From  a  rock  on  the  banks  of  the  great 
river  he  saw  a  tree  leaning  toward  the  water.  lie  stripped  it  of 
Its  bark,  in  order  to  mike  it  more  conspicuous,  hung  upon 
it  a  board,  on  which  ho  had  drawn  figures  of  himself  and  his  men,  seated  in 
their  canoe,  and  be.iring  a  pipe  of  peace.  To  this  he  tied  a  letter  for  Tonti, 
informing  him  that  he  had  returned  up  llie  river  to  the  ruined  village. 

La  Salle  now  pushed  up  the  Illinois,  and  arrived  at  the  junction  of  the 
Kankak.e  with  that  river  early  in  January,  16S1.  Here  he  left  his  canoes, 
and  witll  I  is  four  men  began  an  overland  journey  to  Fort  Miami  on  the  St. 
Joseph  Rl\er,  a  po.  t  which  he  had  cst.nblished  two  years  before. 

Snow   fell  ill  profusion,  till  the  earth  was  deeply  buried.     So  ligbt  and 


368  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OV  THE 

dry  was  it,  that  to  walk  on  snow-sliocs  was  impossible,  and  La  Salle,  aftei 
his  custom,  took  the  lead  to  break  the  path  and  cheer  on  his  followers. 
Ecspite  his  tall  stature,  he  often  waded  through  drifts  to  the  waist,  while  the 
men  toiled  on  behind — the  snow,  shaken  from  the  burdened  twigs,  showering 
on  them  as  they  passed.  After  excessive  fatigue  they  reached  their  goal, 
and  found  shelter  and  safety  within  the  walls  of  Fort  Miami. 

Here  La  Salle  might  have  brooded  on  the  redoubled  ruin  that  had 
befallen  him — the  desponding  friends,  the  exulting  foes,  the  wasted  energies, 
the  crushing  load  of  debt,  the  stormy  past,  the  black  and  lowering  future. 
But  his  mind  was  of  a  different  temper.  He  had  no  thought  but  to  grapple 
with  adversity,  and  out  of  the  fragments  of  his  ruin  to  rear  the  fabric  of  a 
triumphant  success. 

He  would  not  recoil,  but  he  modified  his  plans  to  meet  the  new  contin- 
gency. His  white  enemies  had  found,  or  rather  perhaps  had  made,  a  savage 
ally  in  the  Iroquois.  Their  incursion  must  be  stopped  or  his  enterprise 
would  come  to  naught,  and  he  thought  he  saw  the  means  by  which  this  new 
danger  could  be  converted  into  a  source  of  strength.  The  tribes  of  the  west, 
threatened  by  the  common  enemy,  might  be  taught  to  forget  their  mutual 
animosities  and  join  in  a  defensive  league  with  La  Salle  at  its  head.  They 
might  be  colonized  around  his  fort  in  the  valley  of  the  Illinois,  where,  in  the 
shadow  of  the  French  flag,  and  with  the  aid  of  French  allies,  they  could 
hold  the  Iroquois  in  check,  and  acquire,  in  some  measure,  the  arts  of  settled 
life.  The  Franciscan  fathers  could  teach  them  the  Faith,  and  La  Salle  and 
his  associates  could  supply  them  with  goods  in  exchange  for  the  vast  harvest 
of  furs  which  their  hunters  could  gather  in  those  boundless  wilds.  Mean- 
while he  would  seek  out  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  the  furs  gathered 
at  his  colony  in  the  Illinois  would  then  find  a  ready  passage  to  the  markets 
of  the  world.  Thus  might  the  ancient  slaughter-field  of  warring  savages  be 
redeemed  to  civilization  and  Christianity;  and  a  stable  settlement  might  grow 
up  in  the  heart  of  the  western  wilderness.  The  scheme  was  but  a  new 
feature,  the  result  of  new  circumstances,  added  to  the  original  plan  of  his 
great  enterprise;  and  he  addressed  himself  to  its  execution  with  his  usual 
vjgor,  and  with  an  address  which  never  failed  him  in  his  dealings  with 
Indians. 

A  great  council  of  the  Miamis  was  soon  called.  Chiefs  grizzly  with 
age,  and  others  haughty  with  the  strength  of  younger  manhood  came.  La 
Salle  eloquently  harangued  the  dusky  concourse.     His  words,  backed  up  by 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  369 

gifts,  produced  a  deep  impression.  "  We  make  you  the  master  of  our  beaver 
and  our  lanils,"  they  exclaimed,  "of  our  minds  and  our  bodies."  Could  La 
Salle  have  wished  for  anything  more? 

But  the  enterprise  so  often  defeated — the  discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi — was  yet  to  be  achieved.  To  this  end  he  set  out  to  return  to  Canada. 
It  vs  as  in  May.  On  touching  at  Mackinaw,  to  his  great  joy,  he  found  Tonti 
and  Father  Membr^.  Each  had  a  tale  of  disaster  for  the  other,  but  La  Salle 
was  as  calm  and  determined  as  if  the  sun  of  prosperity  shone  brightly  on  his 
adventurous  pathway. 

"Anyone  else,"  writes  Father  Membr^,  "would  have  thrown  up  his 
hands  and  abandoned  the  enterprise;  but,  far  from  this,  with  a  firmness  and 
constancy  that  never  had  its  equal,  I  saw  him  more  resolved  than  ever  to 
continue  his  work  and  push  forward  his  discovery. 

La  Salle  and  his  men  now  turned  the  frail  prows  of  their  canoes  for 
Fort  Frontenac.  It  was  more  than  a  thousand  miles  away,  but  was  soon 
reached.  Here  vigorous  preparations  were  begun  anew,  and  everything  for 
a  fresh  expedition  was,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  in  readiness. 

Winter  had  scarcely  relaxed  his  icy  grasp  on  the  great  rivers  of  the 
west,  when  the  indefatigable  explorer,  with  a  few  Franciscan  priests,  twenty- 
three  Frenchmen,  and  eighteen  Indians — all  inured  to  war — directed  their 
course  towards  the  Mississippi.  Floating  down  the  Illinois  River,  they 
reached  the  "  Father  of  Waters"  in  February,  16S2.  Without  delay,  they 
began  the  descent  of  the  mighty  stream.  As  they  pressed  on,  they  frequently 
came  in  contact  with  the  Indians,  whom  La  Salle  won  by  his  eloquence  and 
engaging  manners.  We  are  told  that,  after  the  Indian  mode,  he  was  "  the 
greatest  orator  in  North  America." 

The  missionaries  also  announced  the  words  of  truth  to  the  savages.    "As 

the  great  explorer  pursued  his  course  down  the  Mississippi,"  writes  Bancroft, 

"  his  sagacious  eye  discerned  the  magnificent  resources  of  the  country."     At 

every  point  where  they  landed.  La  Salle  planted  a  cross.     lie  was  most  ze.il- 

ous  for  the  Faith.     Finally,  after  many  adventures,  too  numerous  to  recount 

here,  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  was  reached,  and  they  beheld — 

"The  sea!  the  sea!  the  open  sea, 
The  blue,  the  fresh,  the  ever  free." 

On  the  9th  of  April,  La  Salle  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name 

of  Louis  XIV.     For  this  purpose  he  had   a  cross  erected,  while  the  whole 

party  chanted  the  Vexilla  Regis: 


370  TR/.ILS  A\'D  TRIUMPHS  01-   THE 

"The  Banners  of  Heaven's  King  advance, 
The  in^'slei\)'  of  the  cross  shines  forth." 

The  ceremony  was  fiiiished  with  the  Tc  Dciim,  and  tlie  niisinp^  of  a  colunir 

with   the    foUovviiijj   inscription:     "  Liuiis   the    (jre.it,    Kin<^    of    France   and 

Navarre,  rei<;ns;  the  9th  of  Ajiril,  16S2."     Tiien,  "  amid   a    volley   from    all 

our   muskets,"  writes   Father   Memhri5,  "a  leaden    plate,  in>cril)ed  with   th.c 

arms  of  France  and  the  names  of  those  who  had  just  made  the  discovery) 

was  deposited  in  the  earth." 

\'>y  his  energy  and  enterprise,  La  Salle  had  now  explored  from  the  Falls 
of  St.  Anthony  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  honor  of  his  sovereign  lie  named 
all  the  territory  along  the  majestic  river,  Louisiana — a  name,  at  present, 
restricted  to  one  state. 

Turning,  he  ascended  the  Mississippi,  and  sailed  for  Fiance,  in  order  to 
secure  the  assistance  of  Louis  XIV,  and  the  co-operation  fif  his  countrymen 
in  colonizing  the  great  valley,  and  in  developing  its  immense  natiu-al  resour- 
ces. Success  seemed  to.  smile  on  his  plans.  The  government  provided  him 
with  four  ships,  and  a  large  number  of  persons  was  soon  enlisted  in  hi^ 
scheme.  In  T"'}'  -68.},  he  hade  adieu  for  the  last  timu  to  the  shores  of  sunny 
France;  and  with  his  ships  and  two  Inmdred  ami  eighty  persons,  including 
three  Franciscan  fathers  and  three  secular  priests,  well  supplied  with  all  the 
necessaries  to  plant  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  he  directed  his 
course  across  the  Atlantic. 

But  the  entrance  of  the  "Father  of  Waters"  was  hard  to  find.  La 
Salle  missed  it,  went  %vcstward,  and  eai  ly  in  1 6S5  landed  his  colony  at 
Matagorda  Bay,  in  Texas,  where  he  built  Fort  St.  Louis.  In  t!ie  choice  of 
his  men,  he  soon  found  that  he  had  made  an  unhappy  mistake.  They  were 
largely  composed  of  vagabonds  picked  up  on  the  streets  of  Rochelle,  .nid  their 
conduct  was  in  keeping  with  their  ch.uacter,  as  events  unfortimately  proved. 

After  several  vain  attempts  to  reach  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  by  sea. 
La  Salle  resolved  to  strike  out  for  it  by  land.  Father  Doua}-,  O.  S.  F.,  his 
chaplain,  has  left  us  a  minute  account  of  their  ad\entmous  coiuse  o\er  phiiiis 
forests,  rocks,  and  rivers.  But  aster  six  months'  fruitless  wanderings  thev 
were  obliged  to  return  to  Fort  St.  Louis.  Here  La  Salle  heard  that  his  last 
vessel  was  wrecked.  Any  other  man  v/ould  have  thrown  up  his  hands  in 
despair.  But  with  the  giant  energy  of  an  indomitable  wil',  having  lost  his 
hopes  of  fame  and  fortune,  he  now  resolved  to  travel  on  foot  to  his  country- 
men at  the  north,  and  return  from  Canada  to  renew  his  colony  in  Texas. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  371 

Accompanied  by  a  few  priests  and  tvveiit}'  men,  he  set  out  on  this 
immense  jouiiiey  early  in  16S7.  For  nearly  two  months  and  a  half  the  travel- 
ers boldly  forced  their  \vay,tlespite  the  hardships  to  be  endured  from  a  wintry 
climate,  despite  the  countless  obstacles  offered  by  a  savage  country. 

In  this  brief  sketch  it  would  be  as  needless  as  impossible  to  follow  the 
detail  of  their  daily  march.  It  was  such  a  one,  thouj;!)  with  unwonted  hard- 
ships, as  is  famdiar  to  the  memory  of  many  a  prairie  traveler  of  our  own 
time.  They  suffered  greatly  for  the  want  of  shoes,  and  found  for  awhile 
no  better  substitute  than  a  casing  of  raw  buffalo-hide,  which  they  were  forced 
to  keep  always  wet,  as  when  dry  it  hardened  about  the  foot  like  iron.  At 
length  t!ic\'  bought  dressed  deer-skins  from  the  Indians,  of  which  they  made 
tolerable  moccasins.  The  rivers,  streams,  and  guUeys  filled  with  water  were 
without  number;  and,  to  cross  them,  they  made  a  boat  of  bull-hide,  like  the 
"bull  boat  "  still  used  on  the  Upper  Missouri.  This  did  good  service,  as, 
with  the  help  of  their  horses,  tliev  could  carry  it  with  them.  Two  or  three 
men  could  cross  in  it  at  once,  and  the  horses  swam  after  them  like  dogs. 

Sometimes  they  traversed  the  sunny  prairie,  sometimes  dived  into 
the  dark  recesses  of  the  forest,  where  the  buffalo,  descending  daily  from  their 
pastures  in  long  files  to  drink  at  the  river,  often  made  a  broad  and  easy  path 
for  the  travelers.  When  foul  weather  airestetl  them  they  built  huts  of  bark 
and  long  meadow  grass,  and,  safely  sheltered,  lounged  away  the  day,  while 
their  horses,  picketed  near  by,  stood  steaming  in  the  rain.  At  night,  they 
usually  set  a  rude  stockade  about  their  camp,  and  here,  by  the  grassy  border 
of  a  brook,  or  at  the  edge  of  a  grove  where  a  spring  bubbled  up  through  the 
sands,  they  lay  asleep  around  the  embers  of  their  fire,  while  the  man  on  guard 
listened  to  the  deep  breathing  of  the  slumbering  horses,  and  the  howling  of 
the  wolves  that  saluted  the  rising  moon  as  it  flooded  the  waste  of  prairie  with 
pale,  mystic  radiance. 

On  the  15th  of  March  the  boM  travelers  arrived  near  a  place  where  La 
Salle,  on  his  preceding  journey,  had  caused  a  quantity  of  Indian  corn  anil 
beans  to  be  buried.  The  commander  sent  seven  men  to  hunt  up  this  under- 
ground stock  of  provisions.  They  killed  two  buffaloes  on  reaching  the  place 
and  one  of  their  number  returned  to  La  Salle,  requesting  the  use  of  the 
horses  to  bring  the  meat  to  the  camp.  He  complied,  sending  his  nephew, 
Morganet,  with  two  companions  and  two  horses. 

On  the  arrival  of  Morganet  at  the  spot  where  the  dead  buffaloes  lay,  a 
dispute  arose  between  him  and  several  of  the  party — men  who  hated  La  Salle 


372  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Of  THE 

and  nursed  dark  designs.  Angry  words  passed  around.  Niglit  came.  The 
woods  grew  dark,  and  before  morning  dawned  Morganet  and  two  others, 
devoted  followers  of  their  commander,  were  murdered.  It  was  a  hloody 
deed.  The  flood-gate  of  assassination  was  now  open,  and  those  desperate 
men  took  evil  counsel  of  vengeance  for  their  own  safety.  One  black  crime 
led  to  another,  still  blacker. 

La  Salle  soon  became  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  Morganet,  and,  as  if  an- 
ticipating what  had  occurred,  he  asked  in  the  encampment  if  some  of  the 
party  had  not  shown  signs  of  disaffection.  He  resolved  at  once  to  go  in 
search  of  his  nephew.  We  shall  give  the  remainder  of  the  tragic  narrative  in 
the  language  of  an  eye-witness. 

"Asking  me  to  accompany  him,"  writes  Father  Douay,  "  he  took  two 
Indians  and  set  out.  All  the  way  he  conversed  with  me  in  relation  to  mat- 
ters of  piety,  grace,  and  predestination,  expatiating  on  all  his  obligations  to 
God  for  having  saved  him  from  so  many  dangers  during  the  last  twenty  years 
that  he  had  traversed  America.  He  seemed  to  me  particularly  penetrated 
with  a  sense  of  God's  benefits  to  him. 

"  Suddenly  I  saw  him  plunged  into  a  deep  melancholy,  for  which  he 
himself  could  not  account.  He  was  so  troubled  that  I  did  not  know  hitn  any 
longer.     As  this  was  far  from  his  usual  state,  I  roused  him  from  his  lethargy. 

"  Two  leagues  after,  we  found  the  bloody  cravat  of  his  lackey.  He  per- 
ceived two  eagles  flying  over  his  head,  and  at  the  same  time  saw  some  of  his 
people  on  the  edge  of  the  river,  which  he  approached,  asking  them  what  had 
become  of  his  nephew. 

"  They  answered  us  in  broken  words,  showing  us  where  we  should  find 
him.  We  proceeded  some  steps  along  the  bank  to  the  fatal  spot,  where  two 
of  these  murderers  were  hidden  in  the  grass,  one  on  each  side,  with  guns 
cocked.  One  missed  M.  de  La  Salle;  the  other  at  the  same  moment  shot  him 
in  the  head.     He  died  an  hour  after,  on  the  19th  of  March,   16S7. 

"  I  expected  the  same  fate,"  continues  Father  Douay,  "  but  this  danger 
did  not  occupy  my  thoughts,  penetrated  with  grief  at  so  cruel  a  spectacle.  I 
saw  him  fall  a  step  from  me  with  his  face  all  full  of  blood.  I  watered  it  with 
my  tears,  exhorting  him,  with  all  my  power,  to  die  well.  He  had  confessed 
and  fulfilled  his  devotions  just  before  we  started.  He  had  still  time  to  recapit- 
ulate a  part  of  his  life,  and  I  gave  him  absolution. 

"During  his  last  moments,  he  elicited  all  the  acts  of  a  good 
Christian,  grasping  my  hand   at  every  word   I   suggested,  and  especially  at 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  373 

that  of  pardoning  his  enemies.  Meanwhile  his  murderers,  as  much  alarmed 
as  I,  began  to  strike  their  breasts  and  detest  their  blindness.  I  could  not 
leave  the  spot  where  he  had  expired  without  having  buried  him  as  well  as  I 
could,  after  which  I  raised  a  cross  over  his  grave. 

"  Thus  died  our  wise  commander — constant  in  adversity,  intrepid,  gener- 
ous, engaging,  dexterous,  skillful,  capable  of  everything.  He  who  for  twenty 
years  had  softened  the  fierce  temper  of  countless  savage  tribes  was  massacred 
by  the  hands  of  his  own  followers,  whom  he  had  loaded  with  caresses.  He 
died  in  the  prime  of  life,  in  the  midst  of  his  course  and  labors,  without  having 
seen  their  success." 

"Robert  Cavelier  de  la  Salle,  the  first  explorer  who  navigated  Ontario, 
Erie,  Michigan,  and  Huron,"  writes  T.  D.  McGee,  "deserves  to  be  enumer- 
ated among  the  great  captains.  A  native  of  Rouen,  early  employed  in  the 
colonies,  he  had  been  instigated  by  the  reports  of  missionaries  to  seek, 
through  the  northern  lakes,  a  passage  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Building  a 
schooner  on  the  Cayuga  Creek,  he  ascended  the  lakes  in  1679,  chanting  the 
Te  Deiim.  Carrying  his  boats  overland  from  the  Miami  to  a  branch  of  the 
Illinois  River,  he  forced  or  found  his  way  into  the  Upper  Mississippi.  For 
many  years,  with  most  heroic  constancy,  this  soul  of  fire  and  frame  of  iron 
was  devoted  to  the  task  of  opening  routes  between  the  Gulfs  of  St.  Lawrence 
and  of  Mexico,  until  he  perished  in  his  enterprise  by  the  hands  of  two  of  his 
own  unworthy  followers,  on  an  excursion  into  Texas,  in  16S7. 

"  The  Catholic  character  of  La  Salle  is  marked  in  every  act  of  his  life. 
He  undertook  nothing  without  fortifying  himself  by  religion;  he  completed 
nothing  without  giving  the  first  fruits  of  the  glory  to  God.  He  planted  the 
Cross  wherever  he  landed,  even  for  an  hour;  he  made  the  western  desert 
vocal  with  songs,  hymns  of  thanksgiving,  and  adoration.  He  is  the  worthy 
compeer  of  De  Soto  and  Marquette;  he  stood,  sword  in  hand,  under  the  ban- 
ner of  the  Cross,  the  tutelary  genius  of  those  great  states  which  stretch  away 
from  Lake  Ontario  to  tiie  Rio  Grande.  Every  league  of  that  region  he  troil 
on  foot,  and  every  league  of  its  water  he  navigated  in  frail  canoes  or  crazy 
schooners.  Above  his  tomb  the  northern  pine  should  tower ;  around  it  the 
Michigan  rose  and  the  southern  myrtle  should  mingle  their  hues  and  unite 
their  perfumes." 


Cbaptcp  XIX. 


Tribes  of  tbc   Illinois. 


RESULT  OF  Marquette's  Labors.  —  Tough  Subjects  for  Mission  Work.  — a 
Station  with  the  Peorias.  — Michael  Ako's  Courtship. —  A  Bride  who 
WAS  A  Victim.— Instruction  by  Means  of  Pictures.  — Conversion  of  the 
Illinois. —Chief  Chicago. —The  Natchez  Tribe.s.  — Indian  Sun-Worship- 
pkrs. — Remnants  of  the  Illinois. — Removal  to  the  Far  West. 

^IW-^^^'J  early  times  the  country  lying  north  of  the  Ohio,  from  the  he.id- 
,>^.,  Ii..  'a  waters  of  its  iiortliern  branch  to  the  Missis>ipj)i  abo\e  its  moiitli, 
l&^Yfc'jW  was  inhabited  by  various  distinct  n.itions.  Of  these,  the  Eries,who 
''^^^  lay  south  of  the  lake  which  still  bears  their  name,  the  Wenro,  and 
other  tribes,  of  whose  existence  no  trace  remains,  were  of  the 
Huron-Iroquois  family.  By  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century 
all  these  had  been  conquered,  annihilated,  and  absorbed  by  the  Iroquois,  who 
thus  changed  into  a  desert  the  whole  basin  of  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Huron,  as 
thev  depopulated  the  valleys  of  the  Ottawa  and  St.  Lawrence.  The  territory 
now  occupied  by  the  two  states  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  was  a  wilderness,  which 
separated  the  Iroquois  from  the  far-famed  Algonquin  archers  of  the  west. 
Illinois  was  then  occupied  by  two  kindred  nations,  each  composed  of  several 
clans,  Algonquin  in  language,  but  approaching  the  Abnakis  more  than  any 
others  in  manners.  These  were  the  Illinois  and  Miamis,  the  former  made  up 
of  the  Peoria,  Cahokia,  Tamaroa,  Kaskaskias,  Moingwenas,  the  latter  of  the 
Wea,  Piankeshaw,  Pepikokia,  and  Kilatak  clans.  Both  have  left  tlieir  names 
in  the  states,  rivers,  towns,  and  heights  of  the  west. 

374 


CATUOIIC  CllVRCil  IS  AMERICA  375 

When  first  known  they  w^re  very  powerful  nations,  mid  tlioup^h  in  col- 
lision with  the  whites  only  for  a  short  pirioil,  have  almost  entirely  disap- 
peared. What  we  know  of  them  is  connected  with  the  labors  of  Catholic 
missionaries  to  win  thorn  from  idolatry  and  gain  them  to  Christ.  By  stub- 
born and  unyielding  toil,  those  devoted  men  succeeded  at  last  \n  beholding  all 
embrace  the  faith,  and  then  it  would  seem  the  reprieve  granted  by  Provi- 
dence to  the  tribes  expired,  and  they  disappear.  In  other  lands  the  priest  of 
God  converts  the  expiring  sinner,  in  America  the  expiring  n.-ition.  Some 
tribes  are  entirely  extinct ;  none  can  ever  rally  and  regain  their  former  strength, 
most  arc  dying  silently  away. 

When  first  known  to  the  envoys  of  Christ,  (he  Illinois  lay  on  both  sides 
of  the  Mississippi,  pressed  on  the  west  by  the  Tartar  Dakota,  and  on  the  east 
bj'  the  fierce  Iroquois,  so  that  some  tribes  descended  to  the  south  and  south- 
west, where,  not  unlikely,  traces  of  them  may  yet  be  found.  The  Miamis 
lay  around  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  stretching  eastward  to  the 
shores  of  Lake  Erie.  Although  distinct,  and  at  times  at  variance,  the  Illinois 
and  Miami  easily  intermiiigled,  benig  of  the  same  race  and  language. 

The  Illinois  first  met  the  missionarj'  of  Christ  at  Chegoimegon,  where 
Father  Allouez  planted,  in  1667,  his  first  Ottawa  mission.  Here,  too, 
his  -successor,  the  illustrious  Marquette,  received  visits  from  straggling 
parties,  projected  a  mission,  and  from  one  of  the  tribe  learned  the 
language  of  the  Illinois.  War  ilefeated  his  design,  and  drove  him  to  Macki- 
naw. At  a  later  period,  as  we  have  seen,  he  visited  the  Kaskaskias  at  their 
village  near  the  present  cit}-  of  Rockford,  Illinois.  He  was  received  as  an 
angel  from  heaven  by  the  kind-hearted  Illinois,  who  had,  du'ing  the  winter, 
shown  their  interest  in  their  missionary  by  even  sending  him  a  deputation, 
and  offering  to  carry  him  to  their  village.  Eager  to  profit  by  the  strength 
which  had  been  miraculously  restored  by  a  novena  in  ho  lor  of  the  Iinmac- 
ulate  Conception,  he  went  from  cabin  to  cabin  instructing  the  inmalis.  Then, 
when  all  were  suiricicntly  aware  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Cross  to  follow  his 
discourse,  he  convoked  a  general  meeting  in  a  beautiful  prairie. 

There,  before  their  wondering  eyes,  he  raiscil  his  altar,  ami,  as  true  a 
knight  to  Mary  as  chivalry  ever  produced,  displayed  on  every  side  pictures  of 
that  Mother  of  all  purity,  who  was  to  purify  and  elevate  a  land  sunk  in  all 
horrid  vice.  At  least  two  thousand  men,  with  countless  women  and  chil- 
dren, were  grouped  around,  anil  with  the  breathless  attention  of  the  Indian, 
uU  listened  to  the  pale  and  wasted  missionary  who  spoke  his  heart  to  them  011 


376  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  mystery  of  the  cross.  Ami  still  their  wonder  grew  as  they  beheld  him 
then  offer  up  on  his  sylvan  altar  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  on  the  very 
day  when,  more  than  sixteen  centuries  before,  the  God  he  preached  had  insti- 
tuted it  in  the  upper  room  at  Jerusalem.  Thus,  on  Maundy  Thursday,  was 
possession  taken  of  Illinois,  in  the  name  of   Catholicity,  of  Jesus  and  Mary. 

Marquette  remained  there  instructing  them  till  after  Easter,  which  fell 
that  year  on  the  14th  of  April.  Then  he  felt  that  the  strength  given  him 
began  to  fail,  and  he  was  warned  to  depart,  if  he  would  die  in  the  arms  of 
his  brethren  at  Mackinaw.  In  a, previous  chapter  we  have  learned  that  this 
journey  was  his  last  on  earth.  But  the  mission  to  the  Illinois  was  not  neg- 
lected. For  a  time  it  continued  in  charge  of  Father  Allouez,  and  on  his 
death  the  superior  assigned  to  it  the  now  celebrated  Father  Sebastian  Rale, 
who  set  out  from  Quebec  in  August,  1691,  but  did  not  reach  the  great  Illi- 
nois village  till  the  next  spring.  On  arriving  at  the  first  village,  then  com- 
posed of  300  cabins,  all  of  four  or  five  fires,  and  twice  as  many  families,  he 
was  invited  by  the  head  chief  to  a  solemn  banquet,  given  in  his  honor.  Yet, 
kindly  as  his  welcome  was,  he  found  that  the  faith  had  yet  made  but  little 
progress.  "  There  would  have  been  less  difficulty  in  converting  the  Illinois," 
says  he,  "  if  the  prayer  had  permitted  polygamy  among  them.  They 
acknowledged  that  the  prayer  was  good,  and  were  delighted  to  have  their 
wives  and  children  instructed ;  but  when  we  broached  the  subject  to  the  men, 
we  found  how  difficult  it  was  to  overcome  their  inconstancy,  and  induce  them 
to  adhere  to  a  single  wife."  "  There  are  none,"  he  adds,  "  even  of  the  medi- 
cine-men, of  course  the  worst  enemies  of  religion,  who  do  not  send  their 
children  to  be  instructed  and  baptized." 

The  account  given  by  this  missionary  was  written  thirty  years  after,  and 
is  necessarily  vague.  As  in  most  rising  missions,  the  best  and  most  certain 
fruit  was  the  baptism  of  the  infants,  many  of  whom  died  before  attaining  the 
age  of  reason;  yet  adult  converts  were  not  wanting.  A  considerable  number 
had  been  won,  and  such  was  their  fervor  and  attachment  to  the  faith  that 
they  would  have  suffered  any  torture  sooner  than  forsake  it. 

The  services  of  religion  were  regularly  maintained ;  and  besides  the  daily 
Mass  all  assembled  in  the  chapel  for  morning  and  evening  prayer. 

After  two  years'  stay  among  the  Illinois,  Father  Rale  was  recalled  to  the 
Abnakis,  his  original  charge,  and  Father  Gravier  again  resumed  the  mission. 
This  was  located  near  the  French  fort  within  which  his  first  chapel  was;  but 
after  wintering  with  the  Miamis  Father  Gravier  erected  a  new  chapel  outside 


iMT.   KKV.  JiiHN   j.   KE.WK.   IJ    I)..  ARCllBlSllor  OF   DUBUQUE 


CHURCHES  IN  THE  ARCHDIOCESE  OF  DUBUQUE. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  377 

of  the  fort  in  a  very  convenient  place  for  the  Indians,  and,  opening  it  in  April, 
planted  before  it  a  towering  cross  amid  the  shouts  and  musketry  of  the 
French. 

The  Peorias,  among  whom  he  labored,  already  numbered  some  fervent 
Christians.  Even  in  the  absence  of  their  pastor  the  men  assembled  in  the 
chapel  for  morning  and  evening' prayer,  and  after  they  had  left,  an  old  chief 
went  through  the  village  to  call  the  women  and  children  to  perform  the  same 
duty.  The  head  chief,  however,  who  was  a  medicine-man,  with  many  of  his 
associates,  did  all  in  their  power  to  prevent  the  people  from  listening  to  the 
missionary,  and  eagerly  endeavored  to  draw  a  discontented  neophyte  to  their 
party,  hoping  to  prove  by  him  that  Gravier  poisoned  the  dying;  for  here,  too, 
that  old  calumny  was  spread.  Even  the  French  at  the  post,  whose  dissolute 
life  could  not  brook  the  censorship  of  a  priest,  aided  these  slanders.  During 
the  year,  however,  Ako,  apparently  the  companion  of  Father  Hennepin  in 
his  voyage  on  the  Mississippi,  married  Mary,  the  daughter  of  the  chief  of 
the  Kaskaskias;  and  this,  although  at  first  a  source  of  great  persecution  to 
Father  Gravier,  became,  in  the  end  a  great  help  to  the  mission. 

When  Ako  sought  her  in  marriage,  far  from  being  flattered  with  the 
prospect  of  a  union  with  a  Frenchman,  she  told  her  parents  that  she  did  not 
wish  to  marry ;  that  she  had  already  given  all  her  heart  to  God,  and  could 
not  share  it  with  another.  This  she  repeated  when  they  all  proceeded  to  the 
chapel,  and  there  Father  Gravier  told  her  that  she  was  free  to  marry  or  not  as 
she  chose.  Deeming  Gravier  her  adviser,  Ako  and  the  chief  resolved  to  drive 
him  to  perform  the  ceremony  or  leave  the  place.  The  chief  stripped  his  daughter 
and  drove  her  from  his  cabin;  tiien  convening  a  council  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
four  nearest  villages,  he  declaimed  against  the  missionary,  and  easily  induced 
them  to  issue  an  order  forbidding  the  women  and  children  to  go  to  the  chapel. 
Regardless  of  the  order,  fifty  Peorias  and  some  Kaskaskias  came  to  prayers, 
and  the  intrepid  missionary,  as  usual,  traversed  the  villages  to  summon  them 
at  the  accustomed  hour.  Finding  this  first  step  useless,  the  chiefs  next  blocked 
up  the  paths  to  prevent  all  from  going;  but  as  even  then  some,  by  a  circuitous 
path,  reached  the  chapel,  a  chief,  tomahawk  in  hand,  rushed  into  the  cabin 
during  prayers,  and,  in  a  menacing  tone,  ordered  all  to  leave.  Gravier  ordered 
him,  in  turn,  to  retire;  and,  as  the  faithful  Christians  remained  firm,  the  in- 
truder was  compelled  to  retire  baffled. 

Such  an  outrage  in  the  house  of  God  was,  the  missionary  deemed,  too 
grave  to  let  pass;  he  applied  to  the  commandant  of   the  French  fort,  but  was 


378  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

himself  overwhelmed  with  reproaches  and  accusations  in  the  very  presence 
of  the  Indians.  Thus  left  exposed  to  every  violence,  the  missionary  could 
but  mourn  in  secret  over  the  blindness  which  had  aroused  such  a  storm. 
Meanwhile  the  poor  Illinois  maiden,  finding  that  her  father  threatened  to  use 
all  his  efforts  against  religion  if  she  persisted,  repaired  to  Gravier.  Earnest 
as  was  her  desire  to  lead  a  life  of  virginity,  she  trembled  to  see  herself  and 
her  tribe  deprived  of  a  p.istor. 

"  Father!"  she  exclaimed,  "  I  have  a  thought,  and  I  know  not  whether 
it  is  good.  I  believe  that  if  I  consent  to  the  marriage  my  father  will  listen  to 
you,  and  induce  all  to  do  so.  I  desire  to  please  God  and  would  wish  to  re- 
main as  I  am  to  be  agreeable  to  Christ;  but  I  have  thought  of  consenting 
against  my  inclination  for  love  of  Ilim.  Will  this  be  right?"  The  mission- 
ary, moved  at  her  piety,  approved  her  thought;  but  bade  her  tell  her  parents 
distinctly  that  she  did  not  yield  to  their  menaces,  but  simply  because  she 
hoped  that  by  marrying  a  Christian  she  could  more  easily  gain  them  to 
Christ. 

This  she  did,  and  consented  to  become  the  wife  of  Michael  Ako,  more  a 
victim  than  a  bride.  On  this  her  father  submitted,  and  publicly  disavowed 
all  that  he  had  said  against  the  black-gown.  After  her  marriage  her  life  was 
of  the  greatest  purity  and  virtue.  By  her  example  and  exhortations  she  soon 
converted  her  husband,  whose  profligacy  had  been  notorious.  Reverses  over- 
took him,  and  his  only  consolation  in  the  general  odium  raised  against  him 
was  the  practice  of  his  religion,  and  the  society  of  his  pious  and  devoted  wife. 
This  elect  soul  was  the  great  comfort  of  the  missionary.  Her  love  for 
Tesus,  her  devotion  to  Mary,  her  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  her  countrymen, 
were  truly  remarkable.  When  asked  whether  she  loved  the  Mother  of  the 
Redeemer,  she  replied:  "  I  do  nothing  but  call  her  my  mother,  and  beg  her, 
by  every  expression  of  endearment,  to  adopt  me  as  her  daughter;  for  if  she  is 
not  my  mother,  and  will  not  regard  me  as  a  child,  how  can  I  conduct  myself? 
I  am  but  a  child  and  know  not  how  to  pray:  I  beg  her  to  teach  me  what  to 
sav  to  defend  myself  against  the  evil  one,  who  attacks  me  incessantly,  and 
will  make  me  fall,  if  I  have  not  recourse  to  her,  and  if  she  does  not  shield  me 
in  her  arms  as  a  good  mother  does  a  frightened  child." 

As  may  be  supposed,  her  virtue  gave  her  a  wonderful  influence  in  the 
tribe,  and  her  father's  position  as  chief  redounding  on  herself  gave  Christian- 
ity a  foothold  it  had  never  yet  acquired.  Her  parents'  conversion  was  now 
her  great  object:  they  were  long  deaf  to  all  her  entreaties — filled  with  bitter- 


CATHOLIC  CTIVRCU  IN  AMERICA  379 

ness  against  Gr.uier  for  his  supposed  opposition  to  the  mairiagc,  and  giving 
full  credit  to  all  that  Ako  had  then  said.  Conscious  at  last  thi^,  the  now 
repentant  Frenchman  disavowed  all  that  he  had  said  against  the  missionaries. 
On  this  the  chief  and  his  wife  called  upon  Gravier  to  instruct  them.  Sum- 
moning the  chiefs  of  the  various  villages  to  a  public  banquet,  the  Kaskaskia 
sachem  openly  renounced  all  their  superstitions,  and  urged  them  no  longer  to 
thwart  their  own  happiness  by  resisting  the  grace  of  Christianity  which  God 
offered  them.  His  wife  made  a  similar  address  to  the  women;  and  when 
Gravier  had  duly  instructed  them,  he  traversed  the  villages,  calling  all  to  the 
chapel  to  witness  the  ceremony  of  their  baptism. 

During  the  summer,  sickness  ravaged  tiieir  villages,  and  many  were 
again  opposed  to  Gravier.  Regarding  him  as  "  the  bird  of  death,"  the  source 
of  the  malady,  they,  in  their  incantations,  mimicked  and  ridiculed  his  cere- 
monies; but  he  fearlessly  remained,  undeterred  by  their  threats  of  personal 
violence.  Strong  in  the  support  of  tiie  ciiief,  who  soon,  amid  the  ingratitude 
of  the  French,  showed  the  power  of  religion  in  checking  his  vengeance,  the 
missionary  struggled  on  with  the  medicine-men,  even  holding  his  meetings 
of  Christians  in  their  cabins  to  prevent  their  being  used  for  superstition,  and 
throwing  down  the  heathenish  poles  to  which  dogs  and  other  offerings  were 
attached. 

During  the  absence  of  the  tribe  on  the  winter  hunts,  Madame  Ako  regu- 
larly assembled  the  children  who  remained  at  her  house  for  catechism,  and 
herself,  fully  instructed,  rendered  great  service  to  the  mission.  Gravier  him- 
self at  other  seasons  catechized  all,  and  especially  adults,  using  copperplate 
engravings  of  the  scenes  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  as  texts  for  oral  dis- 
courses. Madame  Ako  soon  learned  the  narrative  connected  with  each  cut, 
and  borrowing  them,  gathered  not  only  her  class  around  her,  but  the  oldest 
of  the  village,  explaining  more  intelligibly  than  the  missionary  what  scene  in 
Holy  Writ  was  there  portrayed.  .So  great  was  the  impulse  given  by  these 
means  to  Christianity,  tiiat  in  the  catechetical  instructions  which  he  gave 
every  evening  for  two  hours,  Gravier  had  three-fourths  of  the  Kaskaskia  vil- 
lage crowded  into  his  cabin,  old  and  young,  chiefs  and  matrons,  all  ready  to 
answer  the  (juestions  of  the  catechism,  and  eager  to  receive  a  token  of  the 
missionary's  approval;  wiille  tlicir  children,  day  anil  night,  sang  in  the  village 
streets  the  hymns  which  (iraviei-  had  composed,  embodying  the  truths  of 
Christianity. 

Such   is  the  brief  gleam  of  the   Illinois   mission  in    1693,  during  eight 


38o  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

months  of  which  Father  Gruvier  baptizetl  206  souls,  many  of  them  infants, 
who  soon  after  died,  and  whom  he  was  enabled  to  bathe  in  the  sacramental 
waters  only  by  stratagem.  In  time  this  good  priest  was  recalled  to  Mackinaw, 
and  the  mission  was  continued  in  succession  by  Fathers  Marest,  Mcrmet, 
Boulanger,  and  others,  most  of  the  Illinois  tribes  becoming  christianized  by 
their  hibors. 

Louisiana  was  now  rising  in  importance,  and  on  its  organization  as  a 
colony,  Illinois  became  subject  to  its  government.  The  Jesuits,  after  failing 
at  first,  were  at  last  established  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  their 
superior  at  New  Orleans  had  the  superintendence  of  the  Illinois  mission. 
Missionaries  for  the  Illinois  country  now  came  by  way  of  the  Mississippi. 
Thus,  in  1725,  \\c  find  Fatlicrs  De  Beaubois  and  De  Ville  ascending  the 
river,  followed  in  1737  by  Fathers  Dumas,  Tartarin,  and  Doutreleau. 

The  Illinois  Christians  frequently  descended  to  New  Orleans,  and  Le 
Petit  describes  the  edifying  conduct  of  a  party  led  by  their  excellent  chieftain, 
Chicago.  "  They  charmed  us,"  says  he,  "  b}-  their  piety  and  edifying  life. 
Every  evening  they  recited  the  beads  in  alternate  choirs,  and  cverv  moining 
heard  my  Mass,  chanting  at  it,  especially  on  Sundays  and  holidays,  prayers 
and  hymns  suited  to  the  day.  They  are  well  acquainted  with  the  history  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  Their  manner  of  hearing  Mass  and  approach- 
ing the  sacraments  is  excellent.  The  missionaries  do  not  suffer  them  to  grow 
up  in  ignorance  of  any  of  the  mysteries  of  religion  or  of  their  duties,  but 
ground  them  in  what  is  fundamental  and  essential,  which  they  inculcate  in  a 
manner  equally  sound  and  instructive." 

Chicago  had  been  in  France  and  had  learned  the  advantages  of  civ- 
ilized life.  Mamantouensa,  another  chief,  was  not  inferior  to  him.  See- 
ing the  Ursulines  with  their  pupils,  he  exclaimed  to  one:  "I  see  you 
are  not  nuns  without  an  object.  You  are  like  our  fathers,  the  black-gowns, 
you  labor  foj  others.  Ah!  if  we  had  three  or  four  of  you,  our  wives  and 
daughters  would  have  more  sens'e  and  be  better  Christians."  "  Well,"  said 
the  Mother  Superior,  "choose  any  that  you  like."  "It  is  not  for  me  to 
choose,"  replied  the  truly  Christian  chief;  "it  is  for  you,  who  know  them; 
for  the  choice  should  fall  on  those  who  are  most  attached  to  God,  and  who 
love  Him  most." 

While  the  Illinois  mission,  under  the  wise  guidance  of  Le  Boulanger, 
was  rapidly  gaining  in  numbers,  an  officer  of  the  French  marine  in  Louis- 
iana writes:  "Nothing  is  more  edifying  for  religion   than  the  conduct  and 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  381 

unwcarictl  zeal  vvitli  which  the  Jesuits  hihor  for  the  conversion  of  these  tribes. 
There  are  now  lUinois,  Apalache,  even  Choctaw  Christians.  Picture  to  your- 
self a  Jesuit  missionary  as  a  hero.  Four  hundred  leagues  away  in  the  depths 
of  the  forests,  without  comforts  or  supplies,  often  with  no  resource  but  the 
liberality  of  men  who  know  not  God,  obliged  to  live  like  them,  to  pass  whole 
years  with  no  tidings  of  their  country,  with  men  human  only  in  figure,  with 
out  relief  or  society  in  the  hour  of  sickness,  constantly  exposed  to  perish 
alone,  or  fall  by  the  hand  of  violence.  Yet  this  is  the  daily  life  of  these 
fathers  in  Louisiana  and  Canada,  where  many  have  shed  their  blood  for  the 
Faith." 

Louisiana  was  soon  to  see  her  missionaries  tread  the  path  of  those  of 
Canada.  Before  the  descent  of  Chicago,  which  we  have  mentioned  (for  he 
and  his  pious  followers  were  a  war-party)  Fathers  Poisson  and  Souel  had 
been  killed  by  the  Indians  in  the  rising  of  the  Natchez.  An  Illinois  mission- 
ary, Father  Di)utreleau,  was  well-nigh  involved  in  the  massacre.  He  had 
set  out  on  the  first  day  of  the  year  1730,  and  deeming  it  impossible  to  reach 
Father  Souel's  chapel  in  time  to  say  Mass,  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo 
to  offer  up  the  holy  sacrifice.  A  rustic  altar  was  soon  raised,  and  the  mission- 
ary began  to  vest,  while  his  boatmen  loitered  along  the  shore,  firing  at 
the  wild-fowl.  Some  Indians  came  up,  and  to  their  hail  responded,  "Yazoos, 
friends  of  the  French;"  so,  without  delay,  all  knelt  down,  French  and  Indian 
alike,  before  the  altar.  Just  as  the  priest  was  about  to  begin  the  glorious 
chant  of  the  angels  of  Bethlehem,  the  Indians,  who  knelt  behind,  fired,  killing 
one  of  the  boatmen  and  wounding  the  missionary  in  the  arm.  Ilis  com- 
panions fled  to  their  boat,  but  Doutrelcau  knelt  to  receive  his  death-blow. 
When,  however,  they  had  twice  fired,  and  twice  missed  him,  he  sprang  to 
his  feet,  and  enveloping  the  sacred  vessels  in  the  altar-cloth,  fled,  vested  as 
he  was,  to  the  shore.  The  boat  had  put  off,  but  the  missionary,  though 
wounded  again,  reachcil  it,  and  seizing  the  rudder,  urged  his  comrades  to  ply 
their  oars  vigorously.  The  hope  of  escape  w.is  almost  too  slight  to  nerve  an 
arm  with  vigor,  for  two  were  wounded,  all  unarmed,  and  almost  destitute  of 
provisions,  for  they  had  nothing  but  one  bit  of  pork.  Death  from  exhaustion 
or  famine  seemed  their  only  prospect,  could  thcv  even  distance  the  enemy; 
but  their  trust  was  in  God.  For  an  hour  the  Yazoos  pressed  on  in  hot  pur- 
suit, pouring  in  volley  after  volley  on  the  unarmed  French,  till  at  last  the  latter 
by  adroitly  showing  an  old  rusty  mu-ket  when  the  pursuers  came  too  near,  dis- 
tanced them,  and  the  Yazoos  returned  to  boast  of   having  killed  them  all. 


382  TRFALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Or  THE 

After  many  other  clangers  on  the  river,  Father  Doutreleau  ;iiul  liis  companions 
at  last  reached  the  French  camp  at  Tonicas. 

More  terrible  was  the  trial  of  another  Illinois  missionary,  Father  Senat. 
As  the  Natchez  war  proceeded,  the  French  resolved  to  attack  the  Chickasaws 
from  Louisiana  and  Illinois.  The  latter  expedition  was  led  by  Dartaguettes 
and  Vincennes.  Senat  accompanied  it  as  chaplain.  Success  attended  the 
first  efforts  of  the  French  and  Illinois;  hut  at  a  third  fort,  meeting  a  deter- 
mined resistance,  the  Illinois  gave  way,  and  the  Fcench  were  surrounded. 
A  few  cut  their  way  through;  the  rest  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Chickasaws. 
Bienville,  vvlio  led  the  expedition  from  Louisiana,  still  pressed  them  on  the 
south,  and  tlic  prisoners  were  spared  for  a  time.  Among  them  was  the 
'•  generous  Senat,  who  might  have  fled;  but  regardless  of  danger,  mindful 
only  of  duty,  had  remained  on  the  field  of  battle  to  receive  the  last  sigh  of  the 
wounded."  While  their  fate  was  undecided  they  received  no  ill  treat- 
ment; but  when  Bienville  i-clired,  the  prisoners  were  brought  out,  tird  by 
fours  to  stakes,  and  put  to  death  witii  all  the  refinement  of  Indian  cruelty. 
One  alone  was  spared  to  record  the  story,  but  he  has  left  no  narrative  of  their 
last  scene.  We  only  know  that  to  the  last  the  devoted  Jesuit  exhorted  his 
companions  to  suffer  with  patience  and  courage — to  honor  their  religion  and 
country. 

The  Illinois  mission  was  now  to  decline,  the  mismanagement  of  Louis- 
iana affected  the  whole  valley  of  the  IMississippi.  The  fort  in  Illinois, 
garrisoned  by  dissolute  soldiers,  where  liquor  was  freely  sold  to  the  Indians, 
added  to  unsuccessful  wars,  thinned  down  the  tribe,  so  that  in  1750  there 
were  but  two  Indian  Missions,  both  conducted  by  Jesuit  fathers. 

The  priests  of  the  seminary  of  foreign  missions  had  no  longer  any 
charge  over  the  Illinois,  but  continued  at  Cahokia  as  pastors  for  the  French. 
A  third  Illinois  village  completed  the  nation,  now  so  reduced  that  it  could  not 
raise  three  hundred  fighting-men. 

\Vc  may  here  take  occasion  to  look  farther  south,  where  the  daring  of 
Father  Marquette  had  thrown  open  the  gateway  of  a  new  empire.  At  that 
time  the  Jesuits  were  unable  to  evangelize  this  mighty  region.  In  169S, 
Fathers  Montigony  and  Davion  were  sent  down  the  great  river  by  Bishop 
St.  Valier,  of  Quebec.  After  \vinteringat  Mackinaw  they  visited  the  Illinois, 
the  last  Jesuit  field  and  entered  the  Mississippi.  Descending  to  the  Taenzas, 
Montigny  was  charmed  with  the  dispositions  of  the  tribe.  The  Taenzas 
were  half  civilized,  and  occupied  eight  towns  or   villages  composed  of  houses 


CATHOLIC  CHVRCH  IN  AMERICA  3R3 

built  of  caitli  ami  straw,  with  many  articles  of  furniture  not  found  among  the 
northern  tribes.  The  people  were  subject  to  an  absolute  chief,  who  was 
treated  with  great  honor.  In  dress,  too,  they  were  somewhat  advanced, 
being  clad  in  a  cloth  woven  of  the  fibers  of  a  tree.  Selecting  this  as  his  own 
station,  the  vicar-general  proceeded  to  the  Tonicas  on  the  Yazoo  River,  and 
raising  a  mission-house,  established  Davion  as  a  laborer  there. 

At  the  Red  River  they  heard  of  a  French  settlement  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  resolved  to  visit  it.  After  ten  days'  sail  in  their  bark 
canoes,  suffering  greatly  for  want  of  water,  they  reached  IBiloxi  on  the  ist 
of  July.  As  it  was  too  poor  lO  offer  them  hospitality  without  danger,  they 
remained  but  ten  days,  and  again  set  out  for  their  posts  with  presents  for  the 
Great  Sun  of  the  Natchez,  wine  for  Mass,  flour,  and  some  necessary  tools.  It 
is  probable  that  Mr.  de  Montigny  went  at  once  to  the  villages  of  the  Natchez, 
among  whom  he  proposed  founding  a  new  mission,  for  which  another  priest 
had  arrived;  this  was  the  Canadian,  John  Francis  Buisson,  commonly  called 
de  St.  Come,  who  was  at  his  post  before  Iberville's  coming  in  1700. 

This  nation  was  by  far  the  most  civilized  to  be  found  in  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  as  their  country  was  the  finest.  Adorers  of  the  sun,  they  had  a 
temple  in  its  honor,  built,  like  their  houses,  of  earth  and  straw,  where  a  (ire 
was  kept  constantly  burning  in  honor  of  their  god.  The  great  chief  bore  the 
name  of  Sun,  and  he  was  the  high  priest  of  the  nation,  daily  offering  an  obla- 
tion of  incense  from  his  calumet  to  his  pretended  sire  Succession  was  in  the 
female  line,  and  the  mother  of  the  Sun,  or  female  chief,  was  treated  with  the 
greatest  honor,  although  she  took  no  part  in  the  government. 

Among  these,  then,  St.  Come  took  up  his  residence.  He  soon  gained 
the  favor  of  the  female  chief,  who  was  indeed  so  attached  to  the  black-gown 
that  she  conferred  his  name  on  one  of  her  sons.  But  his  labors  were  not 
blessed  with  fruit;  his  instructions  were  seed  which  fell  on  the  rock.  No 
converts  to  the  faith  enabled  him  to  begin  a  church  of  Natchez  Christians; 
yet  he  struggled  on  for  some  years  undeterred  by  his  ill-success. 

About  the  same  time  Davion  visited  the  villages  of  the  Chickasaws,  but 
no  mission  could  be  attempted  in  a  tribe  already  devoted  to  the  English. 

Thus  almost  coeval  with  tnc  settlement  of  Louisiana,  when  the  civil 
power  had  but  a  single  petty  fort,  the  church  had  begun  missions  among  the 
Tonicas,  Natchez,  Arkansas,  ano  Oumas,  ami  probably  among  the  Choctaws 
and  Cenis,  and  was  laboring  to  elevate  tiiem  to  civilization  and  truth  by  the 
light  aiul  practice  of  the  gospei. 


3^4  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Zeal  ilid  not,  liowcvev,  cominaiul  success.  Like  cvci)'  other  mission, 
that  of  Louisiana  was  baptized  in  blood,  and  illustrated  by  the  deaths  of  its 
pioneers.  In  1702  Nicholas  Foucault,  who  had  arrived  the  previous  year,  and 
was  laboring  among  the  Yazoos  and  Tonicas,  set  out  with  three  Frenchmen 
for  the  fort,  attended  by  two  young  Koroas  as  guides.  Led  by  hopes  of 
plunder,  or  instigated  by  hatred,  these  treacherous  savages  effected  the  murder 
of  the  whole  party  near  the  Tonica  villages;  thus  giving  the  zealous  Foucault 
the  glor\-  of  first  shedding  his  blood  in  the  dangerous  mission. 

On  learning  his  death,  Davion,  the  missionary  among  the  Tonicas,  and 
Father  De  Limoges,  from  the  Oumas,  deemed  it  no  longer  prudent  to  remain 
in  so  exposed  a  situation,  and  descended  to  the  French  fort,  which  they 
reached  on  the  ist  of  October. 

Thus  closed  the  Jesuit  mission.  Not  a  missionary  remained  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Illinois,  except  St.  Come,  to  realize  the  schemes  which  the 
zealous  Montigny  had  formed. 

At  last,  however,  in  December,  1 704,  the  Tonicas  sent  their  deputies  to 
Mobile  to  beg  Davion  to  return  and  instruct  them.  Although  they  had 
hitherto  shown  little  regr.rd  to  his  teaching,  he  finally  yielded  to  their  solici- 
tations and  returned,  but  resolved  to  adopt  a  different  course  from  that  which 
he  had  hitherto  pursued.  He  spoke  freely  and  boldly,  denouncing  their  vices 
and  idolatry,  and  urging  them  to  embrace  Christianity.  Finding  them  deaf 
to  his  exhortations,  he  destroyed  their  temple  and  quenched  their  sacred  fire. 
Incensed  at  this,  they  drove  him  from  their  village,  but  were  so  indifferent  in 
reality  that  they  took  no  steps  to  rebuild  their  sacred  edifice,  and  soon  after 
invited  Davion  to  return. 

St.  Come,  meanwhile,  was  laboring  among  the  friendly  Natchez;  but  he, 
too,  was  destined  to  be  cut  off  by  plundering  Indians.  Descending  the 
Mississippi  in  1707,  with  three  Frenchmen  and  a  little  slave,  he  was  attacked 
and  murdered  while  asleep  by  the  Sitimachas,  who  to  the  number  of  eighty 
surprised  the  little  party.  Bergier,  the  Cahokia  missionary,  was  on  the  river 
at  the  time,  and  announced  the  sad  tidings  at  Biloxi.  On  hearing  it,  the 
governor  called  on  his  Indian  allies  to  avenge  St.  Come;  and  the  Sitimachas 
were  almost  exterminated  by  the  Natchez,  Biloxis,  and  Bayagoulas. 

Davion  was  now  alone,  but  he,  too,  soon  after  finally  left  the  Tonicas, 
who,  though  so  attached  to  him  as  to  offer  him  the  rank  of  chief,  showed  no 
desire  to  adopt  the  dogmas  and  morals  of  the  gospel.  A  change,  however, 
came  over  them.     He  once  more  became  their  missionary,  and  such  we  find 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  385 

him  till  1716.  By  this  time  the  chief  and  several  others  had  heen  baptized. 
The  former  had  even  adopted  European  costume,  and  acquired  some  know- 
ledge of  French. 

The  visit  of  Father  Charlevoix  in  1721  revealed  to  France  the  spiritual 
destitution  of  both  French  and  Indians  on  the  Lower  Mississippi,  where  not 
a  priest  was  to  be  found,  except  at  Yazoo  and  New  Orleans.  To  supply  its 
various  posts  the  company  naturally  turned  to  the  religious  orders,  and  finally 
entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  Capuchins  and  Jesuits,  by  which  the 
former  were  to  supply  priests  for  the  French  posts,  and  the  latter  for  the 
Indian  missions.  The  Capuchins  accordingly  entered  New  Orleans  in  1722, 
and  became  the  parish  priests  of  that  city  and  colony,  their  superior  being 
vicar-general  of  Quebec.  The  Jesuits,  who  were  allowed  a  house  in  New 
Orleans,  entered  in  1725.  The  first  colony  consisted  of  Father  Vitre,  superior, 
Fathers  le  Petit,  de  Beaubois,  and  de  Ville;  the  two  last-named  being  old 
Illinois  missionaries,  who  in  all  probability  returned  to  their  former  posts. 
The  others  established  themselves  outside  the  city,  in  a  house  purchased  of 
M,  de  Bienville,  the  commandant. 

As  time  went  on,  the  Louisiana  missions  were  revived  in  Missouri  and 
the  Indian  territory,  even  down  to  the  present  in  far-away  Oregon  and 
Washing-ton.  We  shall  get  a  glimpse  of  the  remnants  of  these  tribes  in 
recounting  the  apostolic  labors  of  Rev.  Father  P.J.  de  Smet. 


Chapter  XX. 


Labors  of  Fatben  Dc  Strict 


YOUTH  IN  Belgium.  —  Receives  a  Holy  Vocation.  —  As  a  Priest  at  Sugar 
Creek.— Enduring  Many  Privations.— Annoyance  from  Drunken  Indians. 
— Dangers  and  Toils  oi'  the  Mission. — Mastering  Savage  Dialects.— The 
Mormon  Movement  to  Utah.-  A  Jesuit  made  U.  S.  Chaplain.— Many  Labcps 
and  Successes. — The  Edipyinq  Close. 

. ' /Mr  \  '^^  mission  work  among^  the  Indians,  which  has  been  recounted  at 

j '/f' /Wiv\  •}  ^uch  length,  was  best  exemplified  in  these  latter  days  by  the  iahors 

--^JK^   of    Father    Peter  John  De  Smet,  S.  J.,  with  the  history  of  whose 

devoted  life  we  may  accordingly  round  out  the  subject.     His  name 

is,  indeed,  famous  throughout   the  world.     If  it  were  possible  to 

record  all  the  incidents  and  adventures  of  his  wonderful  career,  a 

volume   would  be  produced,  the  interest  of  which  could  be  surpassed  by  no 

work  of  fiction  or  romance. 

He  was  born  at  Termonde,  Belgium,  on  December  31st,  iSoi,  of  a  pious 
and  noble  family.  When  of  the  proper  age,  he  entered  the  episcopal  semin- 
ary at  Mechlin.  While  there,  he  and  a  few  others  felt  called  to  devote  them- 
selves to  the  American  missions.  One  day  there  appeared  amongst  them  a 
venerable  priest,  a  fellow-countryman,  worn  with  the  labors  and  exposure  of 
a  difficult  mission  in  Kentucky.  It  was  the  saintly  Charles  Nerinckx.  As 
the  veteran  missionary  depicted  the  rich  field  for  labor,  the  young  men  gathered 
around  him,  and  six  offered  to  accompany  him  to  America  to  enter  the  Society 

of  Jesus.     Of   these,   Peter  John   De   Smet  was  the  youngest.     But  great 

386 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  //V  AMERICA  387 

caution  was  necessary,  as  the  govcininciit  gave  orders  to  stop  them.  They 
ehulcd  the  officers — De  Smet  very  narrowly — and  met  at  Amsterdam,  whence 
they  sailctl  in  the  summer  of  1821. 

The  apostolic  travelers  ixached  Philadelphia  after  a  forty  days'  voyage; 
but  young  Dc  Smet  was  sadly  disappointed.  He  expected  to  see  wigwams 
— not  houses  like  those  in  Europe.  The  Indians  were  already  the  ooject  of 
his  zeal.  Rev.  Mr.  Nerinckx  took  his  young  candidates  to  the  Jesuit  noviti- 
ate at  Whitemarsh,  Maryland,  where  they  at  once  assumed  the  habit.  Before 
the  close  of  the  two  years'  probation,  however,  difficulties  in  the  diocese 
made  it  necessary  to  break  up  the  novitiate.  The  young  Belgian  novices 
were  on  the  point  of  returning  to  Europe,  when  Bishop  Dubourg  heard  of  it, 
and  gladlv  bore  them  all  to  Missouri,  and  ihcie,  at  Florissant,  De  Smet  took 
his  vows.  At  this  time  he  made  himself  conspicuous  by  his  manly  energy  in 
chopping  down  trees  and  building  log-houses,  some  of  which  monuments  of 
his  strength  and  zeal  were  still  standing  not  many  years  ago.  It  is  related 
tlial  he  could  do  more  in  a  day  than  any  one  of  his  comrades. 

In  1S2S  Father  De  Smet  came  to  St.  Louis,  and  aided  in  founding  the 
St.  Louis  University,  on  Washington  avenue,  assisting  with  his  own  hands  in 
quarrying  the  stones  for  the  foundation.  He  afterwards  became  professor  in 
this  seat  of  learning,  and  won  the  love  of  the  students  by  the  unremitting 
kindness  and  patience  with  which  he  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office.  At 
this  early  date  St.  Louis  was  situated  in  the  midst  of  an  almost  pathless 
wilderness,  and  had  a  population  not  exceeding  3,000  or  4,000  souls.  The 
means  of  travel  were  truly  primitive.  The  party,  of  which  young  De  Smet 
was  one,  crossed  the  Alleghany  Mountains  with  a  train  of  two  or  three  huge 
wagons,  and  on  reaching  Pittsburgh,  bought  a  couple  of  flat-boats,  in  which 
they  descended  the  Ohio  as  far  as  Sliawneetown.  There  they  sold  their  boats 
and  took  the  usual  overland  route  to  St.  Louis. 

The  bishops  of  the  United  States,  assembled  at  the  Council  of  Haltiniorc 
in  1S33,  conliilcd  the  Iiiiliaii  missions  of  the  United  States  to  the  fathers  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  Father  De  Smet,  to  his  great  joy,  was  sent,  in  1S36, 
to  found  a  mission  among  the  Pottawatomies  on  Sugar  Creek.  He  began 
his  labors  with  two  companions.  A  little  chapel  soon  arose  in  the  wilderness, 
and  beside  it  stooil  tlie  log  huts  of  the  missionaries.  It  was  a  field  of  toil, 
crosses,  and  pri\ations.  A  school  was  openetl,  and  it  was  soon  crowded 
Many  were  baptized,  and  even  the  sick  were  carried  for  miles  to  bo  enrolled 
in  the  flock  of  the  great  black-gown. 


388  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

In  a  letter  written  in  the  summer  of  1S3S  to  the  lady  superioress  of  a 
religious  institution  at  his  native  place,  Father  Dc  Smet  says:  "  I  received 
your  letter  of  March  13th.  All  your  communications  give  me  great  pleasure 
and  much  consolation.  I  do  not  forget  m}'  native  place.  Continue,  therefore,  to 
send  me  very  frequently  the  most  minute  details.  •  .  .  You,  no  doubt, 
expect  a  little  recital  from  the  depths  of  our  wilderness.  Well,  I  will  exhibit 
}'ou  the  light  and  the  shade. 

"  First,  I  must  tell  you  the  great  loss  that  we  experienced  towards  the 
end  of  April.  Our  superior  sent  us,  from  St.  Louis,  goods  to  the  amount  of 
$500,  in  ornaments  for  the  church — a  tabernacle,  a  bell,  and  provisions  and 
clothes  for  a  year.  For  a  long  time  I  had  been  without  shoes,  and  from 
Easter  we  were  destitute  of  supplies.  All  the  Pottawatomie  nation  were  suf- 
fering from  scarcity,  having  only  acorns  and  a  few  wild  roots  for  their  whole 
stock  of  food. 

"At  last,  about  the  20th  of  April,  they  announced  to  us  that  the  much- 
desired  boat  was  approaching.  Already  we  saw  it  from  the  highest  of  our 
hills.  I  procured,  without  delay,  two  carts  to  go  in  search  of  our  baggage. 
I  reached  there  in  time  to  witness  a  very  sad  sight.  The  vessel  had  struck  on  a 
sawyer,  was  pierced,  and  rapidly  sinking  in  the  waves.  No  lives  were  lost. 
Of  our  effects,  four  articles  were  saved — a  plow,  a  saw,  a  pair  of  boots,  and 
some  wine. 

"  Providence  was  still  favorable  to  us.  With  the  help  of  the  plow  we 
were  enabled  to  plant  a  large  field  of  corn.  It  was  the  season  for  furrowing. 
We  are  using  the  saw  to  build  a  better  house  and  to  enlarge  our  church, 
already  too  small.  With  my  boots,  I  can  walk  in  the  woods  and  prairies  without 
fear  of  being  bitten  by  the  serpents  that  throng  there.  And  the  wine  per- 
mits us  to  offer  to  God  every  day  the  most  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass — a  priv- 
ilege that  had  been  denied  us  during  a  long  time.  We,  therefore,  returned 
with  courage  and  resignation  to  the  acorns  and  roots  until  the  30th  of  May. 
That  day  another  boat  arrived.  By  that  same  steamer  I  received  news  from 
you,  as  well  as  a  letter  from  my  family,  and  from  the  good  Carmelite 
Superior. 

"Our  congregation  already  amounts  to  about  three  hundred.  At  Easter 
we  had  fifty  candidates  for  first  communion.  I  recommend  to  your  prayers, 
in  a  very  special  manner,  these  poor  Indians,  that  they  maj'  maintain  their 
fervor.  The  dangers  and  scandals  which  surround  them  are  very  great.  1 
remarked,  in  a  preceding  letter,  that  one  of  the  principle  obstacles  to  the  con- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /^V  AMERICA  389 

version  of  the  savages  is  clrinkin<^.     The  hist  hoat  brought  them  a  qiiaiitit)-  of 
liquors. 

"Already  fourteen  among  them  arc  cut  to  pieces  in  this  barbarous  man- 
ner, and  are  dead.  A  father  seized  his  own  child  by  the  legs  and  crushed  it, 
in  the  presence  of  its  mother,  by  dashing  it  against  the  post  of  his  lodge. 
Two  others  most  cnuclly  murdered  an  Indian  woman,  a  neighbor  of  ours,  and 
the  mother  of  four  children. 

"  We  live  in  the  midst  of  the  most  disgusting  scenes.  The  passion 
of  tlie  savages  for  strong  drink  is  inconceivable.  They  give  horses, blankets, 
all,  in  a  word,  to  have  a  little  of  this  brutalizing  liquid.  Their  drunkeimess 
only  ceases  when  they  have  nothing  more  to  drink.  Some  of  our  neophytes 
have  not  been  able  to  resist  this  terrible  torrent,  :nul  have  allowed  tiicmselves 
to  be  drawn  into  it.  I  wrote  an  energetic  letter  to  the  government  against 
these  abominable  traffickers.  Join  j'our  prayers  to  our  efforts  to  obtain  from 
heaven  the  cessation  of  this  frightful  commerce,  which  is  in  every  way  the 
curse  of  the  savages. 

"I  visit  the  Indians  in  their  wigwams,  either  as  missionary,  if  they  are 
disposed  to  listen  to  me,  or  as  a  physician,  to  see  their  sick.  When  I  find  a 
little  child  in  great  danger,  and  I  perceive  that  the  parents  have  no  desire  to 
hear  the  word  of  God,  I  spread  out  my  vials.  I  recommend  my  medicines 
strongly.  I  first  bathe  the  child  with  a  little  camplior;  then,  taking  some 
baptismal  water,  I  baptize  it,  without  their  suspecting  it — and  thus  I  have 
opened  the  gate  of  heaven  to  a  great  number,  notwithstanding  the  wiles  of 
hell  to  hinder  them  from  entering." 

Two  years  after  this  a  still  wider  lield  was  opened.  The  Flatheads  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  faith  from  some  Catholic 
Iroquois,  who  had  wandered  to  the  country,  sent  three  successive  embassies 
to  the  bishop  of  St.  Louis  to  beg  for  a  black-gown.  The  bishop  referred 
them  to  the  provincial  of  the  Jesuits  at  the  University;  but  so  unexpected 
was  llie  \i^it  that  the  fallier  provincial  felt  embarrassed. 

Father  De  Smet,  however,  begged  to  be  permitted  to  l.ibor  for  the  salva- 
tion of  these  poor  creatures.  When  the  exjienses  were  mentioned  as  some- 
what of  an  obstacle,  the  great-heartcil  missionary  destroyed  the  objection  by 
exclaiming:  "I  will  get  means  from  my  home  -my  friends.  Only  let  me  go 
to  the  rescue  of  these  poor  liidians,  and  assuredly  sutHcient  means  will  soon 
come  from  Europe!" 

His  wish  was  grantcil,  and  on  llie  30th  uf  .Vpiil,  1S40,   De   Smet  started 


390  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

on  his  sublime  mission,  in  company  with  the  annual  caravan  of  tiie  American 
Fur  Company.  He  reached  his  destination,  and  at  the  close  of  the  first  day 
2,000  Indians  assembled  before  his  tent  to  recite  their  prayers  in  common. 
The  Lord's  prayer,  the  Creed,  and  the  Commandments,  were  translated  with 
the  aid  of  an  interpreter.  Two  weeks  passed,  and  the  Flatheads  knew  their 
prayers. 

In  August,  Father  De  Smet  set  out  for  St.  Louis  to  report  the  state  of 
affairs.  While  journeying  along  the  trackless  route,  himself  and  his  com- 
panions were  surrounded  by  a  war-party  of  Blackfeet.  "  Who  are  you?  " 
demanded  the  chief  of  the  band,  as  he  eyed  De  Smet's  cassock  and  glittering 
crucifix.  •  "He  is  a  black-gown,"  said  one  of  the  travelers;  "  he  is  a  man  who 
speaks  to  the  Great  Spirit."  And  those  savages,  the  terror  of  the  wilderness, 
showed  him  every  kindness.  The  great  missionary  pursued  his  way  in  peace, 
and  a  warm  welcome  greeted  his  arrival  at  St.  Lmiis. 

In  the  spring  of  1S41  Father  De  Smet,  accompanied  by  a  band  of  Jesuit 
fathers,  again  set  out  for  his  Rocky  Mountain  Flatheads.  His  arrival  made 
eveiy  heart  wild  with  joy.  The  tribe  was  now  to  select  a  permanent  resi- 
dence, and  Bitter-root  River  was  the  site  chosen.  Here  a  Christian  village 
was  founded,  the  cross  planted,  and  the  mission  of  St.  Mary's  begun  on 
Rosary  Sunday.     Never  was  there  a  more  willing  people. 

Father  De  Smet  had  now  fairly  established  that  personal  ascendancy 
over  the  dusky  roamers  of  the  west,  which,  as  the  Great  Black-gown,  he 
retained  throughout  his  long  life. 

And  yet,  let  no  one  imagine  that  his  pathway  was  so  smooth  and  suc- 
cessful that  he  met  with  no  difficulties.  It  was  all  hard,  up-hill  work.  There 
were  superstitions  to  eradicate,  medicine-men  to  encounter,  barbarous  lan- 
guages to  learn,  thousands  of  miles  to  travel,  unheard-of  fatigues  to  undergo, 
dangers  from  wild  beasts  and  from  wandering  savages  scarcely  less  wild. 

The  task  of  learning  even  one  rude  dialect  vi'as  in  itself  a  work  that  re- 
quired amazing  patience  and  no  common  talent.  On  this  point.  Father  Joset, 
S.J.,  an  experienced  missionary  in  the  same  field,  wrote,  in  1859:  "  The 
language  is  the  greatest  difficulty.  One  must  learn  it  as  best  he  can.  There 
is  no  written  language,  there  are  no  interpreters,  there  is  very  little  analogy 
with  other  tongues.  The  prononciation  is  very  harsh,  the  turn  of  thought 
is  entirely  different  from  ours.  They  have  no  abstract  ideas,  everything  is 
concrete.  And  with  these  elements  it  is  necessary  to  create  a  religious,  and 
even  spiritual,  phraseology  ;  for  the  savages  know  nothing  that  is  not  material. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


39  > 


"  I  have  been  here  nearly  fifteen  years.  I  am  not  yet  master  of  the 
language,  and  am  far  from  flattering  myself  with  the  hope  of  becoming  so. 
My  catechist  remarked  to  me  the  other  day,  '  You  pronounce  like  a  child 
learning  to  talk.  When  you  speak  of  religion,  we  understand  you  well;  but 
when  you  change  the  subject  it  is  another  thing.'  That  is  all  I  want.  I 
have,  at  last,  succeeded  in  translating  the  catechism.  I  think  it  is  nearly 
correct.  You  can  hardly  imagine  what  it  cost  me  to  do  it.  I  have  been  con- 
stantly at  work  at  it  since  my  arrival  here." 

But  the  noble  De  Smet  always  rose  superior  to  the  perils  and  ditliculties 
of  his  position.  On  again  reaching  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  he,  in  council  witii 
his  superiors,  planned  a  system  of  missions,  and  devoted  his  life  to  the  work 
of  carrying  it  out.  To  effect  this  grand  object  he  was  in  continual  move- 
ment. One  year  he  would  set  out  for  the  Rocky  Mountains,  visit  new  tril)es, 
prepare  the  way  for  a  mission;  and  when  the  Jesuit  fathers  began  permanent 
labors,  he  would  pass  to  others,  already  established,  where  he  would  see  many 
a  familiar  face,  and  receive  many  a  warm  greeting.  Then  he  would  plod  his 
way  back  to  St.  Louis,  over  trackless  wilds,  rough  rocks,  rushing  rivers,  and 
often  through  tribes  of  hostile  savages  with  brandished  tomahawks,  whom 
he  would  disarm  by  the  majesty  of  his  presence,  and  by  words  of  peace  and 
gentleness. 

At  St.  Louis  there  would  be  little  rest.  Resources  were  needed  for  the 
missions.  Hut,  unfortunately,  the  Catholics  of  the  United  States  have 
shown  but  slight  interest  in  the  Indian  missions,  and  done  little  to  cheer  and 
support  tlie  devoted  priests  laboring  on  them.  To  Europe,  and  especially 
to  his  native  Belgium,  Father  De  Smet  was  obliged  to  look  for  the  neces- 
sary means.  He  even  visited  Irelanii,  where  his  fame  had  preceded  him,aiul 
took  part  in  one  of  the  Repeal  meetings,  riding  in  the  same  carriage  with 
Daniel  O'CoiiiK-ll  and  Bishop  Hughes.  Thus,  by  his  own  personal  exertions, 
he  raised  thousands  of  dollars  to  carry  on  his  great  work.  In  1S53,  his  united 
journeys  represented  an  extent  of  land  and  water  surpassingy/:r  /i»u-s  the 
circumference  of  the  globe  I 

Did  space  permit,  how  many  pleasing  incidents  might  be  related!  I  lis 
beaut  fill  letters  are  full  of  them.  At  one  time  it  is  a  vivid  description  ot 
a  mos(juito  attack  against  the  combined  force  of  branches,  handkerchiefs,  and 
smoke  of  his  party.  On  another,  it  is  the  roaring  of  bears  anil  wild  beasts 
at  the  sight  of  the  camp  fires  at  night.  Then,  it  is  a  learned  disquisition  on 
the    geological     peculiarities   of  a    country — on   its  flowers,    birds,    or    niin- 


392 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 


erals.     Or,  still  again,  it  is  some  Indian  scene  of  horror,  novelty,  or  edi- 
fication. 

On  one  occasion  he  was  giving  instruction  on  the  Ten  Commandments 
in  the  camp  of  a  Sioux  tribe.  "When  I  arrived,"  he  writes,  "at  the  Sixtli 
and  Seventh  Commandments,  a  general  whispering  and  embarrassed  laugh 
took  place  among  my  barbarous  auditory.  I  inquired  the  reason  of  this  con- 
duct, and  explained  to  them  that  the  law  I  came  to  announce  was  not  mine, 
but  God's,  and  that  it  was  obligatory  on  all  the  children  of  men.  .  .  . 
The  great  chief  at  once  arose,  and  replied:  'Father,  we  hear  thee.  We  know 
not  the  words  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  we  acknowledge  our  ignorance.  We 
are  great  liars  and  thieves;  we  have  killed;  we  have  done  evil  that  the  Great 
Spirit  forbids  us  to  do.  But  we  did  not  know  those  beautiful  words.  In 
future,  we  will  try  to  live  better,  if  thou  wilt  but  stay  with  us  and  teach  us.'  " 

On  another  occasion  he  and  his  companions  were  surrounded  by  a  fierce 
war-party  of  the  Blackfeet.  The  soutane  of  the  missionary,  the  crucifix  which 
glittered  on  his  breast,  arrested  the  eye  of  the  Blackfoot  chief.  "Who  art 
thou?"  "He  is  a  Black-gown,"  said  the  companion  of  de  Smet;  "a  man  who 
speaks  to  the  Great  Spirit."  In  a  moment  all  was  changed.  Invited  to  the 
missionary's  humble  board,  the  chief  showed  still  greater  respect  when  he  saw 
him  address  the  Great  Spirit  before  eating.  When  the  frugal  meal  was  ended, 
twelve  Indians  stretched  a  buflfalo  skin  before  him,  with  motions  indicating 
a  wish  that  he  should  sit  upon  it.  Supposing  it  meant  as  a  mat,  he  did  so, 
but  they  raised  it  aloft,  and  so  bore  him  in  triumph  to  their  village.  There, 
too,  he  was  treated  with  every  honor.  "It  is  the  happiest  day  of  my  life," 
said  the  chief;  "it  is  the  first  time  that  we  see  among  us  a  man  in  such  close 
communication  with  the  Great  Spirit." 

The  government  of  the  United  States,  which  in  its  Indian  policy  has 
never  favored  Catholic  missions,  recognized  the  great  ability  and  influence  of 
Father  De  Smet,  and  often  called  for  his  aid,  conscious  that,  where  Indian 
agents  had  only  made  matters  worse,  the  illustrious  black-gown  could  restore 
peace  and  inspire  confidence.  Thus  he  was  called  to  put  an  end  to  the  Siou.x 
war,  and  in  Oregon  to  bring  the  Yakamas  and  other  tribes  to  cease  hostilities. 
He  was  also  chaplain  in  the  expedition  to  Utah,  and  opened  a  new  field  of 
missions  among  the  tribes  in  that  section — the  country  being  as  yet  free  from 
the  polluting  presence  of  Mormonism. 

The  following  letter  of  Father  de  Smet,  recounting  the  scenes  and  inci- 
dents of  the  expedition  against  the  Mormons,  is  full  of  deep  interest. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA 


393 


St.  Louis,  Nov.  i,  1S59. 

"Reverend  and  Dear  Father: — In  accordance  with  your  request, 
I  proceed  with  great  pleasure  to  give  you  some  details  of  my  recent  journey: 

"On  the  20th  of  May,  1S5S,  I  set  out  from  St.  Louis  for  the  western 
portion  of  North  America,  and  after  an  absence  of  about  sixteen  monihs,  I 
rcturneil  to  the  point  from  whence  I  set  out.  During  this  interval,  I  had 
accompanied,  as  chaplain,  an  army  sent  out  by  the  United  States  against  the 
Mormons  and  the  savages.  I  propose  to  give  you  some  details  of  this  double 
expedition. 

"  Not  to  fatigue  you,  I  will  endeavor  to  be  lirief.  At  best,  however,  my 
narrative  will  fill  some  pages,  as  my  recent  voyage  has  been  very  long.  It 
exceeded  fifteen  thousand  English  miles,  or  five  thousand  leagues.  I  propose, 
then,  to  give  you  some  details  in  regard  to  the  different  countries  I  have 
traversed,  and  tiie  seas  I  have  crossed,  and  of  my  visit  to  the  savage  tribes, 
my  dear  spiritual  children  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  Cocur-d'  Al6nes, 
Kalispels,  Pends-d'  Oreilles,  Flatheads,  and  Koetenays;  of  my  stay  among 
the  different  tribes  of  the  great  plains  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  of  the 
manner  in  which  my  time  was  spent  in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  in 
quality  of  chaplain  and  envoy  extraordinary  of  that  government.  These 
details,  I  venture  to  hope,  will  not  be  without  interest  for  you,  and  they  will 
form  the  subject  of  my  little  sketch. 

"  Several  years  have  passed,  since  the  Mormons,  that  terrible  sect  of 
modern  fanatics,  flying  from  civilization,  settled  in  the  midst  of  an  uninhabited 
wilderness.  With  hearts  full  of  hate  and  bitterness,  they  never  ceased,  on 
every  occasion  which  presented  itself,  to  agitate  the  country,  provoke  the 
inhabitants,  and  commit  acts  of  robbery  and  murder  against  many  travelers 
and  adventurers  from  the  United  States. 

"  In  September,  1S57,  one  hundred  and  twenty  emigrants  from  Arkan- 
sas, men,  women,  and  children,  are  said  to  have  been  horribly  massacred  by 
the  Mormons,  in  a  place  called  the  Mountain  Meadows.  These  fanatics 
never  ceased  to  defy  the  government,  and  announced  that  the  day  had  arrived 
to  avenge  the  death  of  their  prophet,  Joseph,  and  his  brother,  and  to  retaliate 
the  wrongs  and  acts  of  injustice  and  cruelty  of  which  they  pretended  to  have 
been  the  victims  in  the  states  of  Missouri  and  Illinois,  whence  they  had  been 
forcibly  expelled  by  the  inhabitants. 

"  On  two  different  occasions,  the  governor  and  subaltern  officers  sent  by 
the  president  of  the  United  States,  IkuI  nut  with  such  strong  opposition  from 


394  TRIALS  .i.\L>  iKiiwirns  or  the 

the  Mormons  in  the  attempt  to  accomplish  their  respective  duties,  that  they 
were  forced  to  quit  the  territory  of  Utah  and  to  return  to  lay  their  complaints 
before  the  president.  Congress  resolved  to  send  a  third  governor,  accompanied, 
this  time,  by  two  thousand  soldiers,  who  were  to  be  followed  by  from  two  lo 
four  thousand  others  in  the  following  spring  of  1S5S.  1  accompanied  the 
last-named  expedition.  On  the  15th  of  May,  1S5S,  the  minister  of  war  wrote 
to  me  as  follows : 

"  'The  president  is  desirous  to  engage  you  to  attend  the  army  for  Utah, 
to  officiate  as  chaplain.  In  his  opinion  your  services  would  be  important,  in 
many  respects,  to  the  public  interest,  particularly  in  the  present  condition  of 
our  affairs  in  Utah.  Having  sought  information  as  to  the  proper  person  to 
be  thus  employed,  his  attention  has  been  directed  to  you,  and  he  has  instructed 
me  to  address  you  on  the  subject,  in  tlie  hope  that  you  may  consider  it  not 
incompatible  with  your  clerical  duties  or  your  personal  feelings  to  yicKl  to  his 
request,'  etc. 

"  The  reverend  father  provincial,  and  all  the  other  consultors,  consid- 
ering the  circumstances,  expressed  themselves  in  favor  of  my  accepting.  I 
immediately  set  out  for  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas  Territor)',  to  join  the 
army  at  that  point.  On  the  very  day  of  my  arrival,  I  took  my  place  in  the 
Seventh  Regiment,  composed  of  eight  hundred  men,  under  the  command  of 
the  excellent  Colonel  Morrison,  whose  staff  was  composed  of  a  numerous 
body  of  superior  officers  of  the  line  and  engineers.  General  Harney,  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  one  of  the  most  distingiushed  and  most  valiant  gen- 
erals of  the  United  States,  with  great  courtesy  installed  me  himself  in  my 
post. 

"The  brave  colonel,  though  a  Protestant,  thanked  him  very  heartily. 
'General,' said  he,  '  I  thought  myself  highly  honored  when  intrusted  with 
the  command  of  the  engineers;  to  have  attached  to  my  command  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  ancient  and  venerable  Church,  I  hold  as  an  additional 
favor.' 

"  General  Harney  then  shook  hands  with  me,  with  great  kindness  bade 
me  welcome  to  the  army,  and  assured  me  that  I  should  be  left  perfectly  free 
in  the  exercise  of  my  holy  ministry  among  the  soldiers.  He  kept  his  word 
most  loyally,  and  in  this  he  was  seconded  by  all  the  officers.  During  the 
wliolc  time  that  I  was  among  them,  I  never  met  with  the  slightest  obstacle  in 
the  discharge  of  my  duties.  The  soldiers  had  always  free  access  to  my  tent  for 
confession  and  instruction.     I   had    frequently  the  consolation  of  celebrating 


CATHOLIC  ClIVRCII  IN  AMERICA  395 

tlio  Holy  Sacrifice  of  tlie  Mass  early  in.  the  morning,  and  on  each  occasion  a 
large  number  of  sokliers  devoutly  approached  the  holy  table. 

"A  word  or  two  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  countries  througlj 
which  we  passed  will,  p(;rhaps,  be  agreeable  to  you.  I  left  Fort  Leavenworth 
on  the  first  of  June,  1S58,  in  the  Seventh  Regiment,  commanded  by  the 
worthy  Colonel  Morrison.  I  had  an  opportunity  of  observing,  with  admira- 
tion, the  extraordinary  rapidity  of  the  progress  of  civilization  in  Kansas.  A 
space  of  276  miles  was  already  in  great  part  occupied  by  white  settlers.  No 
farther  back  than  1S51,  at  the  time  of  my  return  from  the  great  council,  held 
on  the  border  of  the  Platte  or  Nebraska  River,  the  plains  of  Kansas  were 
almost  entirely  witliout  inhabitants,  containing  only  a  few  scattered  villages 
of  Indians,  living,  for  the  most  part,  by  the  chase,  by  fishing,  and  on  wild 
fruits  and  roots. 

"  But  eight  years  have  made  an  entire  change.  Many  towns  and  villages 
have  sprung  up,  as  it  were,  by  enchantment;  forges  and  mills  of  every  kind 
are  already  very  numerous;  extensive  and  beautiful  farms  have  been  estab- 
lished in  all  directions,  with  extraordinary  rapidity  and  industry.  The  face 
of  the  country  is  entirely  changed.  In  iS5i,the  antelope,  the  wild  deer,  and 
the  wild  goat  bounded  at  liberty  over  these  extensive  plains,  nor  is  it  much 
longer  ago  that  these  fields  were  the  pasture  of  enormous  herds  of  buffaloes; 
to  day  they  are  in  the  possession  of  numerous  droves  of  horned  cattle,  sheep 
and  hogs,  horses  and  mules.  The  fertile  soil  rewanls  a  hundred  fold  the 
labors  of  the  husbandman.  Wheat,  corn,  barley,  oats,  flax,  hemp,  all  sorts 
of  garden  stuff,  and  all  the  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone,  are  produced  there 
in  abundance.  Emigration  tends  thithei',  and  commerce  follows  in  its  tracks, 
and  acquires  new  importance  every  day. 

"  Leavenworth  is  the  principal  town  of  Kansas  Territory.  It  contains 
already  about  ten  thousand  souls,  though  it  has  sprung  into  existence  within 
the  last  six  years.  It  is  beautifully  aiul  advantageously  situated  on  the  Mis- 
souri River.  It  has  a  bishop,  two  Catholic  churches,  a  convent  with  a  board- 
ing-school and  a  day-school.  There  are  already  fifteen  churches,  twenty- 
three  stations,  sixteen  priests,  five  religious  communities  and  four  manual- 
labor  schools  for  the  Osage  and  Pottawatomie  Indians,  which  arc  under  the 
care  of  our  fathers  :nui  religious  ladies  of  different  orders. 

"  The  greater  portion  of  the  Territory  is  not  thickly  wooded.  The  sur- 
face of  the  country,  as  a  geneial  thing,  is  rolling  and  well  adapted  to  agricult- 
ure; it  is  not  unlike  the  billows  of  a  vast  ocean,  suddenly  arresleil  in  its  How 


396  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

and  converted  into  solid  land.  The  air  is  fresh  and  wholesome.  As  one 
rises  with  the  elevations  of  the  soil,  the  graceful  undulation  of  the  alternating 
vale  and  hill  contrast  admirably  with  the  waving  lines  of  walnut  trees,  oaks, 
and  poplars  which  mark  the  course  of  each  little  river.  The  banks  of  each 
stream  are  generally  more  or  less  thickly  wooded.  We  ascended  the  valley 
of  the  Little  Blue  for  three  days,  making  a  distance  of  fifty-three  miles. 

"  The  names  of  the  principal  plants  which  attract  the  attention  of  the 
botanist  in  the  plains  of  Kansas  are  the  anothcra,  with  its  brilliant  yellow 
flowers,  antorpha  and  artctnisia,  the  commclina,  the  blue  and  purple  lupin, 
different  forms  and  species  of  cactus,  the  pradcscantia,  the  mimosa,  and  the 
white  mitnulus. 

"  The  waters  of  the  Little  Blue  are  left  at  a  distance  of  375  miles  from 
Fort  Leavenworth.  Continuing  the  route  from  that  point  you  cross  elevated 
prairies  of  a  distance  of  twenty-six  miles,  and  enter  the  great  valley  of  the 
Nebraska  or  Platte  River,  at  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Kear- 
ney. This  river, up  to  its  two  forks,  is  about  two  thousand  yards  wide;  its 
waters  are  yellowish  and  inuddy  in  the  spring  freshets,  and  resemble  those  of 
the  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi;  it  is  not  so  deep  as  those  streams;  its  cur- 
rent is  very  rapid. 

"  Fort  Kearney  is  rather  insignificant.  It  consists  of  three  or  four  frame 
houses  and  several  made  of  adobes,  a  kind  of  coarse  brick  baked  in  the  sun. 
The  government  has  a  military  post  there  for  the  tranquillity  of  the  country, 
and  to  provide  for  the  safety  of  travelers  crossing  the  desert  to  go  to  Califor- 
nia, Oregon,  and  the  territories  of  Utah  and  Washington. 

"A  great  number  of  Pawnee  Indians  were  encamped  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  fort.  I  came  near  witnessing  a  battle  between  them  and  a  war- 
party  of  Arapahoes,  who,  favored  by  the  night,  had  succeeded  in  approach- 
ing the  camp  unseen,  almost  forty  strong.  The  Pawnees  had  just  let  their 
horses  loose  at  the  break  of  day,  when  the  enemy,  with  loud  cries,  rushed 
into  the  drove,  and  carried  away  many  hundreds  with  them  at  full  gallop. 
The  alarm  immediately  spread  throughout  the  camp.  The  Pawnees,  indiffer- 
ently armed  and  almost  naked,  rushed  to  the  pursuit  of  the  Arapahoes,  caught 
up  with  them,  and  a  combat  more  noisy  than  bloody  took  place.  A  young 
Pawnee  chief,  the  most  impetuous  of  his  band,  was  killed,  and  three  of  his 
companions   wounded.     The  Arapahoes  lost  one  killed  and  many   wounded. 

"  Desirous  to  stop  the  combat,  I  hastened  to  the  scene  with  an  aide-de- 
camp of  the  general,  but  all  was  over  when   we  arrived;  the  Pawnees  were 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  397 

returning  with  tlicir  dead  and  woundtd  and  all  the  stolen  horses.  On  their 
retm-n  to  camp  nothing  was  heard  but  cries  of  sorrow,  rage,  and  despair,  with 
thre  :ts  and  vociferations  against  their  euLMnics.  It  was  a  harrowing  scene. 
Tlie  deceased  warrior  was  decorated  and  painted  willi  all  the  marks  of  dis- 
tinction of  a  great  brave,  and  loaded  with  his  finest  ornaments.  They  placed 
iiim  in  the  grave  amid  the  acclamations  and  lamentations  of  the  whole  tribe. 

"  The  next  day  the  Pawnee-Loups  invited  me  to  their  camp.  I  found 
there  two  French  Creoles,  old  acquaintances  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  They 
received  me  with  the  greatest  kindness,  and  desired  to  act  as  my  interpreters. 
I  had  a  long  conference  on  religion  with  these  poor,  unhappy  savages.  They 
listened  with  the  most  earnest  attention.  After  the  instruction  they  presented 
to  me  20S  little  ciiiidien,  and  very  earnestly  begged  me  to  regenerate  them 
in  the  holy  waters  of  baptism.  These  savages  have  been  the  terror  of  travelers 
obliged  to  pass  through  their  territory.  For  many  years  their  character  has 
been  that  of  thieves,  drunkards  and  ruflians,  and  they  are  brutalized  by  drink, 
which  they  readily  obtain,  owing  to  their  proximity  to  the  frontiers  of  civil- 
ization. This  accursed  traffic  has  always  and  ever3'vvherc  been  the  ruin  of 
the  Indian  tribes,  and  it  leads  to  their  rapid  extinction. 

"  Two  days'  march  above  Fort  Kearney,  at  a  place  called  Cottonwood 
Springs,  I  found  thirty  lodges  of  Ogallallas,  a  Sioux  or  Dakota  tribe.  At 
their  request  I  baptized  all  their  children.  In  1851,  at  the  great  council  on 
tiic  I'hitte,  I  had  brought  them  the  same  blessing.  They  told  me  that  a  "■reat 
number  of  their  children  had  died  since,  carried  off  by  epidemics  which  had 
raged  among  the  nomadic  tribes  of  the  plains.  They  are  much  consoled  at 
the  thought  of  the  happiness  which  children  obtain  by  holy  baptism.  They 
know  its  high  importance  and  appreciate  it  as  the  greatest  favor  which  thej' 
can  receive. 

"General  Ilarney  h.id  many  friendly  conferences  with  the  Pawnees,  the 
Ogallallas,  and  the  Sheyennes,  in  which  he  strongly  advised  them  to  cease 
molesting  the  whites  who  might  pass  through  their  borders,  adtling  that  on 
this  condition  alone  could  they  remain  at  peace  with  the  United  States. 

"  I  have  so  often  spoken  of  the  buffalo  in  my  letters  that  this  time  I  might 
pass  him  by  in  silence.  However,  I  will  mention  it  for  the  purpose  of  s.iying 
that  the  race  is  not  extinct  in  these  parts,  though  it  is  becoming  more  rare  to 
find  buffaloes  on  the  highways  across  the  plains,  which  its  instinct  must  have 
taught  it  to  avoid.  We  met  our  first  herds  of  this  noble  animal  in  the  ncijyh- 
borhood  of  Fort  Kearney.     The  sight  created  gre;it  excitement  among  those 


398  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

soldiers  who  had  not  visited  the  olains  before,  and  they  burned  to  bringdown 
one  or  two. 

"Armed,  as  they  were,  with  tlic  famous  Minie  rifles,  they  might  have 
made  a  good  hunt  had  tlicy  not  been  on  foot,  while  the  buffaloes  were  at 
full  gallop;  it  was,  therefore,  impossible  to  get  near  them.  They  fired,  how- 
ever, at  a  distance  of  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  yards.  A  single  buffalo 
was  wounded  in  the  leg.  Its  wound  compelled  it  to  lag  behind  and  he 
became  the  target  of  all  our  men.  A  confused  sound  of  cries  antl  rillc-shots 
arose,  as  if  the  last  hour  had  come  for  the  last  buffalo.  Riddled  with  balls, 
his  tongue  lolling  out,  the  blood  streaming  from  his  throat  and  nostrils,  the 
poor  brute  fell  at  last.  To  cut  liini  up  and  distribute  the  meat  was  the  work 
of  a  moment.  Never  was  buffalo  more  rapidly  transformed  into  steak  and 
soup — every  one  would  have  his  piece. 

"  While  these  things  were  going  on,  Captain   P ,  mounted  on  a   line 

horse,  approached  a  bull  already  terrified  by  the  rifle-shots  and  the  terrible 
noise  of  our  soldiers,  who  were  novices  to  the  chase,  and  fired  at  him  twice 
almost  point-blank.  The  buffalo  and  the  horse  stopped  at  the  same  instant. 
In  spite  of  all  his  efforts  Captain  P could  not  make  his  horse,  unaccus- 
tomed to  the  hunt,  advance  a  single  step,  and  the  furious  buffalo  plunged 
both  horns  in  his  flank  and  threw  him  down,  dead. 

"In  this  critical  moment  the  courageous  rider  did  not  lose  his  presence  of 
mnid.  He  leaped  from  his  horse  over  the  buffalo's  back,  gave  him  two  more 
bullets  from  his  six-shooter  and  completely  baflled  him.  The  captain  then 
fled  to  a  gully,  which  was  luckily  both  deep  and  near  at  hand.  The  buffalo, 
unable  to  follow  him,  abandoned  his  persecutor,  who  returned  to  camp  with 
his  horse's  saddle  on  his  back.  A  horse  must  be  well  trained  to  hunt  the  buf- 
falo, and  must  be  trained  specially  for  buffalo-hunting ;  otherwise  the  danger 
is  very  great,  and  the  consequence  may  be  fatal. 

"  During  the  months  of  June  and  July,  tempests  and  falls  of  rain  and  hail 
are  very  frequent,  and  almost  of  daily  occurrence,  toward  evening,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Platte,  which  is  the  country  of  storms  and  whirlwinds,  par  excel- 
lence. The  gathering  of  these  storms  can  be  noticed  at  a  great  dis- 
tance, as  a  sea.  At  first,  light  spots  of  clouds  are  observed  on  the  horizon, 
which  are  followed  by  dark  masses  of  cloud,  which  move  along  in  succession, 
crowding  one  upon  another,  and  spreading  over  the  sky  with  extraordinary 
rapidity,  they  approach  and  cross  each  other;  they  burst  and  pour  forth 
torrents   of  water  which  drench  the  valleys,  or  volleys  of  hail  which  crush 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


399 


the  herbs  ami  flowers;  the  storm  clouds  then  disappear  as  rapidly  as  they 
have  come. 

"  '  Every  evil  has  its  remedy,'  says  the  proverb,  and  these  hurricanes, 
storms,  and  heavy  rains  serve  the  purpose  of  cooling  and  purifying  the 
atmosphere,  which,  at  this  season,  would  become  insupportable  but  for  this 
circumstance.  The  mercury  often  rises  to  one  hundred  degrees  of  Fahrenheit 
in  the  shade.  The  water  does  not  rest  long  on  the  surface  of  the  soil.  It  is 
absorbed  almost  as  it  falls,  on  account  of  the  very  porous  character  of  the 
earth  of  the  valley  and  its  sandy  bottom.  Travelers,  in  camps  a  little  removed 
from  the  river,  always  dig  wells;  the  water  is  everywhere  found  at  a  depth 
of  two  or  three  feet.  This  water,  though  cold  and  clear,  must  be  unwhole- 
some, and  frequently  causes  severe  sickness. 

"  Graves  abound  in  these  regions,  and  the  mortal  remains  of  a  vast  number 
of  emigrants  repose  there.  With  these  emigrants  have  also  sunk  beneath  the 
valley  of  the  Platte  that  ardent  thirst  for  gold,  those  desires  and  ambitious 
projects  for  wealth,  greatness,  and  pleasures  which  devour  them,  and  'drove 
them  towards  the  distant  regions  of  California,  Pike's  Peak,  and  Frazer. 
Death  met  them  far  from  their  Penates,  and  they  are  buried  in  these  desert 
strands.  How  uncertain  are  the  affairs  of  this  world!  Man  makes  his  plans; 
he  builds  his  castles  in  the  air;  he  counts  upon  a  future  which  docs  not  belong 
to  him;  he  proposes,  but  God  disposes,  and  cuts  the  thread  of  life  in  the 
midst  of  these  vain  hopes. 

"  The  most  remarkable  thing  that  I  met  on  this  occasion  on  the  highway 
of  the  prairies,  ordinarily  so  lonely,  were  the  long  wagon  trains  engaged  m 
transporting  to  Utah  provisions  and  stores  of  war.  If  the  journals  of  the  d.ny 
m.iy  be  believed,  these  cost  the  government  fifteen  millions.  Each  tram  con- 
sisted  of  twenty-six  wagons,  each  wagon  drawn  by  six  yoke  of  oxen  and 
containing  near  five  thousand  pounds.  The  quarter-master-gcncral  made  the 
calculation,  and  told  me  that  the  whole  train  would  make  a  line  of  about  fifty 
miles.  We  passed  every  day  some  wagons  of  this  immense  train,  each  wagon 
marked  with  a  name  as  in  the  case  of  ships,  and  these  names  served  to  furnish 
amusement  to  the  passer-by;  the  caprices  of  the  captains  in  this  respect  hav- 
ing imposed  upon  the  wagons  such  names  as  the  Constitution,  the  President, 
the  Great  Republic,  the  King  of  Bavaria,  Lola  Montes,  Louis  Napoleon,  Dan 
O'Connell,  Old  Kentuck,  etc.  These  were  daubed  in  great  letters  on 
each  side  of  the  carnage.  On  the  plains,  the  wagoner  assumes  the  style  of 
captain,  being   placed   in  command  of   his   wagon   and   twelve  oxen.     The 


400 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  0/-   THE 


master-wagoner  is  admiral  of  tiiis  little  land- fleet.  He  has  control  of  26  cap- 
tains and  313  oxen.  At  a  distance,  the  white  awnings  of  the  wagons  have 
the  effect  of  a  fleet  of  vessels  with  all  canvas  spread. 

"  On  leaving  Leavenworth  the  drivers  look  well  enough,  being  all  in  new 
clothes,  but  as  they  advance  into  the  plains,  their  good  clothes  become  travel- 
stained  and  torn,  and  at  last  are  converted  into  rags.  The  captams  have  hardly 
proceeded  two  hundred  miles  before  their  trail  is  marked  with  rags,  scattered 
and  flying  along  the  route.  You  may  often  remark  also  on  the  various  camp- 
ing-grounds, even  as  far  as  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  beyond,  the  wrecks  of 
wagons  and  the  skeletons  of  oxen,  but  especially  the  remains  of  the  wardrobe 
of  the  traveler — legs  of  pantaloons  and  drawers,  a  shirt-bosom,  the  back  or 
the  arm  of  a  flannel  vest,  stockings  out  at  toe  and  heel,  crownless  hats,  and 
shoes  worn  through  soles  or  uppers,  are  strewed  along  the  route. 

"  These  deserted  camps  are  also  marked  by  packs  of  cards  strewn  around 
among  broken  jars  and  bottles;  herej'ou  see  a  gridiron,  a  coffee-pot,  or  a  tin  bowl; 
there  a  cooking-stove  and  the  fragments  of  a  shaving-dish,  all  worn  out  and 
cast  aside.  The  poor  Indians  regard  these  signs  of  encroaching  civilization 
with  an  unquiet  eye,  as  they  puss  them  on  their  way.  These  rags  and  refuse 
are  to  them  the  harbingers  of  the  approach  of  a  dismal  future  for  themselves; 
they  announce  to  them  that  the  plains  and  forests  over  which  they  roam  in 
the  chase,  their  beautiful  lakes  and  rivers  swarming  with  fish,  and  the  repair 
of  numerous  aquatic  birds,  the  hearth  which  witnessed  their  birth,  and  the 
soil  which  covers  the  ashes  of  their  fathers — all,  in  fine,  that  is  most  dear  to 
them — are  about  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  rapacious  white  man.  And 
they,  poor  mortals,  accustomed  to  roam  at  large  and  over  a  vast  space,  free, 
like  the  birds  of  the  air,  will  be  enclosed  in  narrow  reserves,  far  from  their 
cherished  hunting-grounds  and  fine  fisheries,  far  from  their  fields  of  roots  and 
fruits;  or  driven  back  into  the  mountains  or  to  unknown  shores.  It  is  not 
surprising,  then,  that  the  savage  seeks  sometimes  to  revenge  himself  on  the 
white  man;  it  is  rarely,  however,  that  he  is  the  aggressor;  surely,  not  once 
out  of  ten  prov-oking  cases. 

"  The  wagons  are  formed  every  evening  into  a  corral.  That  is,  the 
whole  twenty-six  are  ranged  in  a  circle  and  chained  one  to  the  other,  so  as 
to  leave  only  one  opening,  to  give  passage  to  the  beasts  which  passed  the 
night  in  the  center,  and  are  guarded  there  by  several  sentinals  under  arms. 
Under  the  protection  of  a  small  number  of  determined  men,  the  wagons  and 
animals  are  secure  from  any  attack  of  undisciplined  Indians,  in  however  greai 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


401 


numbeis.  When  tlie  travelers  neglect  this  precaution  and  camp  at  random, 
not  unfrcquently  a  hostile  band  of  Indians  will  provoke  what  is  called  a  stam- 
pede or  panic  among  the  cattle,  and  carry  them  all  off  at  once.  The  travel- 
ers go  into  camp  early,  and  at  break  of  day  the  beasts  are  let  loose  in  the 
prairie,  that  they  may  have  plenty  of  time  to  graze.  Grass  is  very  abundant 
in  the  valley  of  the  Platte  and  on  the  neighboring  acclivities. 

"  Between  Fort  Kearney  and  the  crossing  of  the  south  fork  of  the  Platte, 
we  met  over  a  hundred  families  of  Mormons  on  their  way  to  Kansas  and 
Missouri,  with  the  intention  of  settling  there.  They  appeared  delighted  at 
being  fortunate  enough  to  leave,  safe  and  sound,  the  famous  promised  land 
of  Utah ;  thanks  to  the  influence  of  the  new  governor  and  the  presence  of 
the  United  States  troops.  They  told  us  that  a  great  number  of  other  families 
would  follow  them,  so  soon  as  they  should  be  capable  of  doing  so,  and  of  pro- 
curing the  necessary  means  for  the  journey. 

"  They  confessed  that  they  would  have  escaped  long  before,  had  they 
not  been  afraid  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Danites,  or  Destroying  Angels. 
These  compose  the  body-guard  of  the  prophet ;  they  are  said  to  be  entirely 
and  blindly  at  his  disposal,  to  carry  out  all  his  plans,  meet  all  his  wishes,  and 
execute  all  his  measures,  which  often  involve  robbery  and  murder.  Before 
the  arrival  of  the  United  States  soldiers,  woe  to  any  one  who  manifested  a 
desire  to  leave  Utah,  or  abandon  the  sect;  woe  to  him  who  dared  to  raise  a 
voice  against  the  actions  of  the  prophet — he  rarely  escaped  the  poniards  of 
these  destroying  angels,  or  rather  incarnate  demons. 

"The  highway  of  the  plains,  during  the  beautiful  season  of  1S5S, 
appeared,  as  it  were,  invaded  by  an  unusual  and  joyous  animation.  To  complete 
the  idea  which  1  have  just  given,  I  will  add  that  couriers  and  express  messen- 
gers, coming  and  returning,  constantly  crossed  each  other  on  the  road.  The 
different  companies  of  the  army  left  a  space  of  two  or  three  daj-s'  journey 
between  them. 

"  Each  company  was  followed  by  ambulances  for  the  use  of  the  superior 
officers,  a  body  of  artillery  and  engineers,  and  a  train  of  wagons,  with  six 
mules  each,  transporting  piovisions  and  baggage.  Each  company  was  fol- 
lowed also  by  an  immense  drove  of  six  or  seven  hundred  horned  cattle  to 
furnish  their  daily  food.  Uncle  Sam,  as  the  government  of  the  United 
States  is  called,  h.is  a  truly  paternal  heart;  he  provides  abundantly  for  the 
wants  of  the  defenders  of  the  country,  and  will  not  suffer  them  to  want  their 
comforts. 


402  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

"Everything  was  going  on  aclniiiabl}'  and  in  good  order.  The  com- 
manding general  and  staff  were  already  at  the  crossing  of  the  south  branch  of 
the  Platte,  4S0  miles  from  Fort  Leavenworth,  when  he  received  tlie  news 
that  the  Mormons  had  submitted  or  laid  down  their  arms,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  an  order  to  distribute  his  troops  to  other  points  and  return  to  the  United 
States.  This  also  changed  my  destination;  the  conclusion  of  peace  put  an 
end  to  my  little  diplomatic  mission  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  Utah.  I  consulted 
with  the  general,  and  accompanied  him  on  his  return  to  Leavenworth. 

"  The  south  fork  of  the  Platte,  at  the  crossing,  is  2,045  ^^^^  wide.  In 
the  month  of  July  its  depth  is  generally  about  three  feet;  after  the  junction 
of  the  two  forks,  the  width  is  about  3,000  yards.  The  bottom,  throughout 
the  whole  length,  is  sandy. 

"  I  could  say  much,  dear  father,  about  the  country  between  Leavenworth 
and  the  south  pass  of  the  Platte,  its  botanical  and  other  properties  and  pro- 
ductions, but  I  have  spoken  of  these  on  many  occasions  in  my  letters  describ- 
ing otiier  journeys  across  this  region.  The  little  incidents  mentioned  in  this 
letter  are  all  connected  with  my  last  trip. 

"  Before  leaving  Fort  Leavenworth  for  St.  Louis  I  made  a  little  excur- 
sion of  seventy  miles  to  visit  our  dear  fathers  and  brothers  of  the  Mission  of 
St.  ISlary  among  the  Pottawatomies.  I  at  last  reached  St.  Louis  in  the 
beginning  of  September,  after  a  first  absence  of  about  three  months,  and  after 
a  journe)',  to  and  fro,  of  1,976  miles.  My  stay  in  St.  Louis  was  short.  1 
will,  in  my  next  letter,  give  you  details,  which  will  inform  you  as  to  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  long  expedition  of  which  I  speak  in  the  first  part  of  this  letter. 

"  Receive,  reverend  and  dear  father,  the  expression  of  those  sentiments 
of  respect  and  affection  which  you  know  I  entertain  for  you,  and  let  me  rec- 
ommend myself  very  especially  to  your  holy  sacrifices  and  good  prayers. 

"  Your  reverence's  servant  in  Christ, 

"P.J.  De  Smet,  S.  J." 
We  now  give  another  letter  from  the  gifted  pen  of  the  great  black-gown 
which  is  a  continuation  of  the  foregoing  narrative: 

"St.  Louis,  Nov.  10,  1859. 
"Reverend  and  Dear  Father: — In  accordance  with  my  promise, 
I  resume  the  little  story  of  my  long  voyage.  On  my  return  to  St.  Louis,  I 
tendered  to  the  Minister  of  War  my  resignation  of  the  post  of  chajilain.  It 
was  not  accepted,  because  a  new  war  had  just  broken  out  against  the  govern- 
ment, among  the  tribes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.     I  was   notified    by   tele- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  403 

graph  to  proceed  to  New  York,  and  to  embark  there  with  General  Ilarney 
and  his  staff. 

"On  the  20th  of  September,  1S5S,  we  left  the  port  of  New  York  for 
Aspiiiwall;  it  was  the  season  of  the  equinox,  so  that  we  experienced  some 
rough  weather  on  the  voyage,  and  a  heavy  wind  among  the  Bahamas.  We 
coasted  for  some  time  along  the  eastern  shore  of  Cuba,  in  sight  of  the  prom- 
ontories of  St.  Domingo  and  Jamaica.  On  the  2()\.h  I  crossed  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama  on  a  good  railroad,  forty-seven  miles  long. 

"  The  next  day  I  had  the  happiness  to  offer  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the 
Mass  in  the  Catliedral  of  Panama.  The  bishop  very  earnestly  entreated  me 
to  use  my  influence  with  the  Very  Rev.  Father  General  at  Rome  to 
obtain  for  him  a  colony  of  Jesuits.  His  Lordship  especially  expressed  his 
earnest  desire  to  intrust  his  ecclesiastical  seminary  to  the  care  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus.  New  Granada,  as  well  as  many  other  regions  of  Spanish  South 
America,  offers,  doubtless,  a  vast  field  to  the  zeal  of  a  large  number  of  our 
fathers. 

"  The  distance  from  Panama  to  San  Francisco  is  more  than  three  thou- 
sand miles.  The  steamer  brought  to  in  the  superb  bay  of  Acapiilco  to  receive 
the  mails,  and  to  coal  and  water.  This  is  a  little  port  of  Mexico.  On  the 
evening  of  the  i6th  of  October  I  arrived  at  San  Francisco,  happy  to  find 
myself  in  a  house  of  the  society,  and  in  the  company  of  many  of  mv  breth- 
ren in  Jesus  Christ,  who  loaded  me  witli  kiiuliiess  and  all  the  attention  of  tiu- 
most  cordial  charity. 

"  The  '■qiiain  boiiiiin  cl  Jocundum  habitarefratrcs  in  unit  in''  is  especially 
appreciated  when  one  leaves  a  California  steamer  in  which  one  has  been 
imprisoned,  sometimes  with  fourteen  or  fifteen  hundred  individuals,  all  labor- 
ing under  the  gold  fever,  and  who  think  and  speak  of  nothing  but  mines  of 
gold  and  all  the  terrestrial  delights  whicii  this  gold  is  shortly  to  procure  them. 
However,  the  'shortly'  is  long  enough  to  allow  of  the  destruction  or  disappear- 
ance of  many  an  illusion.     'All  that  glitters  is  not  gold.' 

"  We  left  San  Francisco  on  the  30th,  and  in  a  few  days  made  more  than 
one  thousand  miles  to  Fort  Vancouver,  on  tlie  Columbia  River.  The  news 
of  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  and  of  the  submission  of  the  tribes,  had  been 
received  at  Vancouver.  The  task  rcmainetl  of  removing  the  Indian  preju- 
dices, soothing  their  incpiietudc  anil  alarm,  and  correcting,  or  rather  refuting, 
the  false  rumors  which  are  generally  spread  after  a  war,  and  which,  other- 
wise, might  be  the  cause  of  its  renewal. 


404  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPITS  OF  THE 

«'  Under  the  orders  of  the  general  commanding'  in  chief,  I  left  Fort  Van- 
couver on  the  2C)th  of  October  to  go  among  the  tribes  of  the  mountains,  at  a 
distance  of  about  eight  hundred  miles.  I  visited  the  Catholic  soldiers  of 
Forts  Dalle  City  and  \VaIla-\Valla  on  my  way.  At  the  last-named  fort  I  had 
the  consolation  of  meeting  Rev.  Father  Congiato,  on  his  return  from  his  visit 
to  the  missions,  and  of  receiving  very  cheering  news  from  him  as  to  the  dis- 
position of  the  Indians. 

"At  my  request  the  excellent  commandant  of  the  fort  had  the  very  great 
kindness  to  set  at  liberty  all  the  prisoners  and  hostages,  both  Cwur-d'Alt'nes 
and  Spokans,  and  he  intrusted  to  my  charge  to  bring  them  on  their  way  and 
return  them  to  their  respective  nations.  These  good  Indians,  particularly  the 
Cocur-d'Alenes,  had  given  the  greatest  edification  to  the  soldiers  during  their 
captivity.  These  men  often  approached  them  with  admiration  in  witnessing 
the  performance  of  their  pious  exercises,  morning  and  evening,  and  in  listen- 
ing to  their  prayers  and  hymns.  During  the  whole  journey  these  good 
Indians  testified  the  utmost  gratitude  to  me,  and  their  punctual  performance  ot 
their  religious  duties  was  a  source  of  great  consolation  and  happiness  to   me. 

"On  the  2 1st  of  November  I  arrived  at  the  mission  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
among  the  Cocur-d'Alenes.  I  was  detained  at  the  mission  by  the  snow  until 
the  iSth  of  February,  1S59.  During  this  interval  snow  fell  with  more  or  less 
abundance  for  forty-three  days  and  nights,  on  seven  days  it  rained,  we  had 
twenty-one  cloudy  days,  and  sixteen  days  of  clear  and  cold  weather.  I  left 
the  mission  on  the  iSth  of  February  with  the  Rev.  Father  Joset,  who 
accompanied  me  until  we  met  Father  Hoecken,  wlio  had  promised  to  meet 
us  on  Clarke's  River. 

"  The  ice,  snow,  rain,  and  winds  impeded  very  much  our  course,  in  our 
frail  canoes  of  bark,  on  the  rivers  and  great  lakes.  We  often  ran  consider- 
able risk  in  crossing  rapids  and  falls,  of  which  Clarke's  River  is  full.  I 
counted  thirty-four  of  these  in  seventy-five  miles.  We  met  with  several 
camps  of  Indians  in  winter-quarters  on  every  side.  On  the  approach  of  the 
winter  season  they  are  obliged  to  scatter  in  the  forests  and  along  the  lakes 
and  rivers,  where  they  live  by  the  chase  and  fishing.  They  received  us  every- 
where with  the  greatest  kindness,  and,  notwithstanding  their  extreme  pov- 
erty, willingly  shared  with  us  their  small  rations  and  meager  provisions. 
They  eagerly  embraced  the  occasion  to  attend  to  their  religious  duties  and 
other  exercises  of  piety;  attending  at  the  instructions  with  great  attention, 
and  with  much  zeal  and  fervor  at  Mass,  and  at  morning  and  evening  prayers. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  405 

On  tlie  I  ith  of  March,  we  arrived  al  the  mission  of  St.  Ignatius,  among  the 
Pcndsd'Oreilles  of  the  mountains. 

"  The  Koetenays,  a  neighboring  tribe  to  the  Pends  d'Oreilles,  having 
heard  of  my  arrival,  h.id  traveled  many  days'  journey  through  the  snow  to 
shake  hands  with  me,  to  bid  me  welcome  and  manifest  their  filial  affection. 
Ill  1S45  I  had  made  some  stay  with  them.  I  was  the  first  priest  who  had 
announced  to  them  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation,  and  I  had  baptized  all  their 
little  children  and  a  large  number  of  adults.  They  came  on  this  occasion 
with  a  primitive  simplicity,  to  assure  me  that  they  had  remained  faithful  to 
the  prayer;  that  is,  to  religion,  and  all  the  good  advice  that  they  had  recived. 

"All  the  fathers  spoke  to  me  of  these  good  Koetenays  in  the  highest 
terms.  Fraternal  union,  evangelic  simplicity,  innocence,  and  peace  still 
reign  among  them  in  full  vigor.  Their  honesty  is  so  great  and  so  well-known, 
that  the  trader  leaves  his  store-house  entirely,  the  door  remaining  unlocked 
often  during  his  absence  for  weeks.  The  Indians  go  in  and  out  and  help  them- 
selves to  what  they  need,  and  settle  with  the  trader  on  his  return.  He 
assured  me  himself  that  in  doing  business  with  them  in  tiiis  style  he  never 
lost  the  value  of  a  pin. 

"On  the  iSth  of  March  I  crossed  deep  snow  a  distance  of  seventy  miles 
to  St.  Mary's  valley,  to  revisit  my  first  and  ancient  spiritual  children  of  the 
mountains,  the  poor  and  abandoned  Flatheads.  They  were  greatly  con- 
soled on  learning  that  Very  Rev.  Father  General  had  the  intention  of  caus- 
ing the  mission  to  be  undertaken  again.  The  principal  chiefs  assured  me 
that  since  the  departure  of  the  father;,  they  had  continued  to  assemble  morn- 
ing' and  evening  for  prayers,  to  ring  the  angelus  at  the  accustomctl  hour,  ami 
to  rest  on  Sunday  to  glorify  the  holy  day  of  our  Lord.  I  will  not  enter  into 
long  details  here  as  to  the  present  disposition  of  this  little  tribe,  for  fear  of 
being  too  long. 

"Doubtless,  in  the  absence  of  the  missionaries,  the  enemy  of  souls  has 
committed  some  ravages  among  them,  but,  by  the  grace  of  God,  the  evil  is 
not  irreparable.  Their  daily  practices  of  piety,  and  the  conferences  I  held 
with  them  during  several  days,  have  given  me  the  consoling  conviction  that 
the  Faith  is  still  maintained  among  the  Flatheads,  and  still  brings  forth  fruits 
of  salvation  among  them— their  greatest  chieftains,  Michael,  Adolphe, 
Ambrose,  Moses,  and  others,  are  true  and  zealous  Christians,  and  real  piety  in 
rt-l'gion  and  true  valor  at  war  are  united  in  tluin. 

"In  my  several  visits  to  stations  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  I  w.-is  received 


4o6  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

by  the  Indians  with  every  demonstration  of  sincere  and  filial  joy.  I  think  I 
may  say,  that  my  presence  among  tiieni  has  been  of  some  advantage  to  them, 
both  in  a  religious  and  secular  point  of  view.  I  did  my  best  to  encourage 
them  to  persevere  in  piety  and  maintain  the  conditions  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
vk'ith  the  government.  In  these  visits  I  had  the  happiness  to  baptize  over  a 
hunilrcd  infants  and  a  large  number  of  adults. 

"On  the  i6th  of  April,  in  accordance  with  the  orders  of  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  army,  I  went  to  Fort  Vancouver  and  left  the  mission  of  St. 
Ignatius.  At  my  request,  all  the  chiefs  of  the  different  mountain  tribes 
accompanied  me,  to  renew  the  treaty  of  peace  with  the  general  and  with 
superintendent  of  Indian  affairs.  I  give  their  names  and  the  nations  to  which 
they  belong:  Alexander  Temglagketzin,  or  the  Man-without-a-horse,  great 
chief  of  the  Pends-d'Oreilles;  Victor  Alamiken,  or  the  Happy-man  (he 
deserves  his  name,  for  he  is  a  saintly  man),  great  chief  of  the  Kalispcls; 
.Adolphus  Kwilkweschapc,  or  Red-feather,  chief  of  the  Flatheads;  Francis 
Say  a,  or  the  Iroquois,  another  Flathead  chief;  Dennis  Zenemtietze,  or  the 
Thunders-robe,  chief  of  the  Schuyelpi  or  Chaudieres;  Andrew  and  Bona- 
venture,  chiefs  and  braves  among  the  Cocur-d'Alenes,  or  Skizoumish; 
Kamiakin,  great  chief  of  the  Yacomans,  and  Gerry,  great  chief  of  the  Spo-  . 
kans.  The  last  two  are  still  pagans,  though  their  children  have  been  bap- 
tized. 

"  We  suffered  much  and  ran  many  dangers  on  the  route  on  account  of 
the  high  state  of  the  rivers  and  the  heavy  snow.  For  three  days  we  had  to 
clear  a  way  through  thick  forests,  where  thousands  of  trees,  thro\vn  down  by 
storms,  lay  across  one  another,  and  were  covered,  four,  six,  and  eight  feet, 
with  snow;  several  horses  perished  in  this  dangerous  passage.  My  horse 
stumbled  many  a  time  and  procured  me  many  a  fall ;  but  aside  from  some  ser- 
■Qus  bruises  and  scratches,  a  hat  battered  to  pieces,  a  torn  pair  of  trousers,  and  a 
*'  soutane  "  or  black-gown  in  rags,  I  came  out  of  it  safe  and  sound.  I  meas- 
ured white  cedars  in  the  wood  which  were  as  much  as  six  or  seven  persons 
could  clasp  at  the  base,  and  of  proportionate  height.  After  a  month's  journey 
we  arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver. 

"On  the  iSth  of  May  the  interview  took  place  with  the  general,  the 
superintendent,  and  the  Indian  chiefs.  It  produced  most  happy  results  on 
both  sides.  About  three  weeks'  time  was  accorded  to  the  chiefs  to  visit,  at 
the  cost  of  the  government,  the  principal  cities  and  towns  of  the  State  of 
Oregon  and  Washington  Territory,  with  everything  remarkable  in   the   way 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  4O7 

of  iiKliistrial  establishments,  steam  engines,  forges,  manufactories,  and  print- 
ing establisliments — of  all  which  the  poor  Indians  can  make  nothing  or  very 
little.  The  visit  which  apjjcared  the  most  to  interest  the  chiefs  was  that 
which  they  made  to  the  prison  at  Portland  and  its  wretched  inmates,  whom 
they  found  chained  within  its  cells.  They  were  particularly  interested  in  the 
causes,  motives,  and  duration  of  their  imprisonment;  Chief  Alexander  kept  it 
in  his  mind.  Immediately  on  his  return  to  his  camp  at  St.  Ignatius  mission, 
he  assembled  his  people  and  related  to  them  all  the  wonders  of  the  whites, 
and  especially  tiie  history  of  the  prison.  '  We,'  said  he,  'have  neither  chains 
nor  prisons;  and  for  want  of  them,  no  doubt,  a  great  number  of  us  are  wicUe<l 
and  have  deaf  ears.  As  chief  I  am  determined  to  do  my  duty.  I  shall  take 
a  whip  to  punish  the  wicked;  let  all  those  who  have  been  guilty  of  any  mis- 
demeanor present  themselves,  I  am  ready.'  The  known  guilty  parties  were 
called  upon  by  name,  many  presented  themselves  of  their  own  accord  and  all 
received  a  jiroportionate  correction! 

"  Before  leaving  the  parts  of  civilization,  all  the  chiefs  received  presents 
from  the  general  and  superintendent,  and  returned  to  their  own  country  con- 
tented and  happy,  and  well  iletcrmincd  to  keep  at  peace  with  the  whites.  As 
for  me,  I  had  accomplished  among  the  Inilians  the  task  which  the  govern- 
ment had  imposed  upon  me.  I  explained  to  the  general  my  motives  for  desir- 
ing to  return  to  St.  Louis  by  way  of  the  interior.  He  acceded  to  my  desire 
with  the  greatest  affability,  and  in  the  answer  which  he  addressed  to  me  on 
this  matter,  he  bore  most  honorable  testimony  to  my  services. 

"  .\bout  the  131)1  of  June  I  again  left  Vancouver  with  the  chiefs  to 
return  to  the  mountains.  I  passed  the  7th,  Sth,  and  9th  of  July  at  the  Mis- 
sion of  the  Sacretl  Heart  among  the  Cocur-d'Alenes.  Thence  I  continued 
my  route  for  St.  Ignatius  with  Father  Congiato,  and  completed  the  trip  in  a 
week;  not,  however,  without  many  privations,  which  deserve  a  short  men- 
tion here. 

"  Imagine  thick,  untrodden  forests,  strewn  with  thousands  of  trees  thrown 
down  by  age  and  storms,  in  every  tlirection;  where  the  path  is  scarcely  visi- 
ble and  is  obstructeil  by  barricades,  which  the  horses  are  constantly  compelleil 
to  leap,  and  which  always  endanger  tiie  riders.  Two  line  rivers,  or  rather 
great  torrents — the  Coeur-d'Alene  and  St.  Francis  Borgia — traverse  these 
forests  in  a  most  winding  course;  their  beds  are  formed  of  enormous  detached 
masses  of  rock,  and  large,  slippery  stones,  ri)uiuled  by  the  action  of  the  waler. 
The  first  of  these  torrents  is  crossed  thirly-iiine  times,  anil  the  second  thirty- 


4o8  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

two  limes;  by  the  only  path,  the  water  often  conies  to  the  liorsc's  belly,  and 
sometimes  above  the  satklle.  It  is  considered  good  luck  to  escape  with  only 
the  legs  wet. 

"  The  two  rivers  are  separated  by  a  high  mountain,  or  rather  a  chain  of 
mountains,  called  the  Bitter-root  chain.  The  sides  of  these  mountains,  cov- 
ered with  thick  cedar  forests  and  an  immense  variety  of  firs  and  pines,  pre- 
sent great  dilViculties  to  the  traveler,  on  account  of  the  great  number  of  trees 
which  lie  broken  and  fallen  across  the  path,  and  completely  cover  the  soil. 
To  these  obstacles  must  be  added  immense  fields  of  snow  which  have  to  be 
crossed,  and  which  are  at  times  from  eight  to  twelve  feet  deep.  After  eight 
hours'  painful  march,  we  arrived  at  a  beautiful  plain,  enameled  with  flowers, 
which  formed  the  summit  of  Mount  Calvary,  where  a  cross  was  raised  on  my 
first  passage,  sixteen  years  ago. 

"  In  this  beautiful  situation,  after  so  long  and  rude  a  course,  I  desired  to 
encamp;  but  Father  Congiato,  persuaded  that  in  two  hours  more  we  should 
reach  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  induced  us  to  continue  the  march.  When 
we  made  the  six  miles  which  we  supposed  we  had  before  us,  and  twelve 
miles  more,  darkness  overtook  us  in  the  midst  of  difficulties.  On  the  eastern 
side  of  the  mountain  we  found  other  hills  of  snow  to  cross,  other  barricades 
of  fallen  trees  to  scramble  over  ;  sometimes  we  were  on  the  edge  of  sheer 
precipices  of  rock,  sometimes  on  a  slope  almost  perpendicular.  The  least 
false  step  might  precipitate  us  into  the  abyss.  Without  guide,  without  path, 
in  the  most  profound  darkness,  separated  one  from  the  other,  each  calling 
for  help  without  being  able  either  to  give  or  to  obtain  the  least  assistance,  we 
fell  again  and  again,  we  walked,  feeling  our  way  with  our  hands,  or  crawled 
on  all-fours,  slipping  or  sliding  down  as  best  we  could. 

"At  last  a  gleam  of  hope  arose;  we  heard  the  hoarse  murmur  of  water 
in  the  distance.  It  was  the  sound  of  the  waterfalls  of  the  great  stream  which 
we  were  seeking.  Each  one  then  directed  his  course  towards  that  point. 
We  all  had  the  good  fortune  to  arrive  at  the  stream  at  last,  but  one  after 
another,  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock  in  the  night,  after  a  march  of  sixteen 
hours,  fatigued  and  exhausted,  our  dresses  torn  to  rags,  and  covered  with 
scratches  and  bruises,  but  without  serious  injuries.  While  eating  our  supper, 
each  one  amused  his  companions  with  the  history  of  his  mishaps.  Good 
Father  Congiato  admitted  that  he  had  made  a  mistake  in  his  calculation,  and 
was  the  first  to  laugh  heartily  at  his  blunder.  Our  poor  horses  found  nothing 
to  eat  all  night  in  this  miserable  mountain  gap. 


CATHOLIC  CIU'RCII  I>J  A^rF.RICA  409 

"  I  cannot  omit  here  testifying  my  indebtedness  to  all  the  fathers  and 
brothers  of  the  missions  of  the  Sacretl  Heart  anil  of  St.  Ignatius,  for  their 
truly  fraternal  charity  towards  me,  and  the  efficacious  aid  which  they  rendered 
me  towards  fulfilling  the  special  mission  which  had  hccn  entrusted  to  me. 

"  As  Father  Congiato  keeps  the  Very  Rev.  Father  General  informed  of 
the  actual  state  of  the  missions  of  the  mountains,  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to 
enter  into  all  its  details.  I  recommend,  especially,  these  poor  chiklren  of 
the  desert  to  his  paternal  attention  anil  charity,  and  to  our  immediate  su)5c- 
riors  in  this  country. 

"  Divine  Providence  will  not,  I  hope,  abandon  them.  They  have  already 
a  great  number  of  intercessors  in  heaven,  in  the  thousands  of  their  chiklicn, 
dead  shortly  after  baptism,  in  the  number  of  good  Christian  adults  among 
them,  who,  having  led  good  lives,  have  quitted  this  world  in  the  most  jdIous 
dispositions;  they  can  especially  count  upon  the  protection  of  Louise,  of  the 
tribe  of  Cu-ur-d'  Alenes,  and  of  Loyola,  chief  of  the  Kalispels,  whose  lives 
were  an  uninterrupted  series  of  acts  of  heroic  virtue,  and  who  died  almost  in 
the  odor  of  sanctity. 

"On  the  32d  of  July,  I  left  the  mission  of  St.  Ignatius,  accompanied  by 
Father  Congiato,  with  some  guides  and  Indian  hunters.  The  distance  to 
Fort  Benton  is  about  two  hundred  miles.  The  country,  for  the  first  four 
daj's,  is  picturesque,  and  presents  no  obstacle  to  traveling.  It  is  a  succession 
of  forests  easily  traversed,  of  beautiful  prairies,  impetuous  torrents,  pretty 
rivulets;  here  and  there  are  lakes,  from  three  to  six  miles  in  circumference, 
whose  waters  are  clear  as  crystal,  well  stored  with  fish  of  various  kinds; 
nothing  can  be  more  charming  than  the  prospect.  We  calleil  one  of  the 
largest  of  these  lakes,  St.  Mary. 

"On  the  26th  of  July  we  crossed  the  mountain  which  separates  the 
sources  of  the  Clarke  River  from  those  of  the  Missouri,  at  the  4Sth  degree  of 
north  latitude  and  the  1  15th  of  longitude.  The  crossing  does  not  take  more 
than  a  half  an  hour,  and  is  very  easy,  even  for  wagons  and  carts.  At  the 
cistern  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  the  plains  are  mountainous,  and  almost 
destitute  of  timber;  wc  crossed  several  small  streams  before  wc  reached  the 
Sun  River,  and  followed  down  its  valley  almost  to  its  mouth.  We  visited  the 
great  falls  of  the  Missouri  on  our  way.  The  principal  fall  is  ninety-three 
feet  high. 

"Father  Iloccken  and  Brother  Magri  met  us  in  this  vicinity.  On  the 
29th  we  arrived  at  Fort  Benton,  a  post  of  the  St,  Louis  Fur  Company,  where 


410 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 


we  received  the  greatest  attention  from  all  its  inmates;  we  feel  particularly 
obliged  to  Mr.  Dorson,  the  superintendent  of  the  fort,  for  his  continued  kind- 
ness and  charity  to  all  our  missionaries.  May  the  Lord  protect  and  reward 
him!  The  Blackfeet  occupy  an  immense  territory  in  this  neighborhood;  they 
reckon  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  souls  in  the  six  tribes  which  compose  this 
nation.  They  have  been  asking  for  black-gowns  (priests)  for  many  years, 
and  their  desire  appears  universal.  In  my  visit  to  them  in  1S46,  they  begged 
me  to  send  a  father  to  instruct  them. 

"  Father  Hoecken  is  now  in  these  parts,  and  I  have  just  read  with  the 
greatest  pleasure,  in  the  'Annals  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,'  that  the 
work  of  the  conversion  of  the  Blackfeet  has  been  commenced,  with  the  entire 
approbation  of  the  Very  Rev.  Father  General. 

"On  our  arrival  in  the  neighborhood,  we  found  a  large  number  of 
Indians  encamped  around  and  ne.ir  the  fort.  It  was  the  period  for  the  annual 
distribution  of  presents.  They  manifested  their  joy  at  the  presence  of  a  mis- 
sionary in  their  country,  and  hoped  that 'all  would  open  to  him  their  ears 
and  heart.'  The  chief  of  a  large  camp,  in  one  of  our  visits,  related  to  us  a 
remarkable  circumstance,  which  I  think  worthy  of  mention. 

"  When  Father  Point  was  among  the  Blackfeet,  he  presented  some 
crosses  to  many  chiefs  as  marks  of  distinction,  and  explained  to  them  their 
signification,  exhorting  them,  when  in  danger,  to  invoke  the  Son  of  God, 
whose  image  they  bore,  and  to  place  all  their  confidence  in  him.  The  chief 
who  related  these  details  was  one  of  a  band  of  thirty  Indians  who  went  to 
war  against  the  Crows. 

"  The  Crows  having  got  upon  their  trail,  gathered  together  in  haste  and 
in  great  multitudes  to  fight  and  destroy  them.  They  soon  came  up  with  them 
in  a  position  of  the  forest,  where  they  had  made  a  barricade  of  fallen  trees 
and  branches,  and  surrounded  them,  shouting  ferociously  the  dreaded  war- 
cry.  The  Blackfeet,  considering  the  superior  numbers  of  the  enemy  who 
thus  surprised  them,  were  firmly  persuaded  that  they  should  perish  at  their 
hands.  One  of  them  bore  on  his  breast  the  sign  of  salvation.  He  remem- 
bered the  word;;  of  the  black-gown  (Father  Point),  and  reminded  his  com- 
panions of  them;  all  shouted,  '  It  is  our  only  chance  of  safety.'  They  then 
invoked  the  Son  of  God,  antl  rushed  from  the  barricade. 

"  The  bearer  of  the  cross,  holding  it  up  in  his  hand,  led  the  way,  fol- 
lowed by  all  the  rest.  The  Crows  discharged  a  shower  of  arrows  and  bullets 
at  them,  but  no  one  was  seriously  injured;  they  all  happily  escaped.    On  con- 


CATHOLIC  CIIVRCH  IN  AMERICA  411 

eluding  his  statement,  the  chief  added,  with  energy  and  feeling:  '  Yes,  the 
prayer  (religion)  of  the  Sou  of  God  is  the  only  good  and  powerful  one;  we 
all  desire  to  become  worthy  of  it,  and  to  adopt  it.' 

"My  intention,  when  I  left  General  Harney,  was,  witii  his  consent,  to  go 
all  the  way  to  St.  Louis  on  horseback,  in  the  hope  of  .neeting  a  large  number 
of  Indian  tribes,  especially  the  large  and  powerful  tribe  of  Comanches.  I 
was  obliged  to  renounce  this  project,  for  my  six  horses  were  entirely  worn 
out,  and  unfit  for  making  so  long  a  journey;  they  were  all  more  or  less  sad- 
dle-galled, and,  not  being  shod,  their  hoofs  were  worn  in  crossing  the  rocky 
bottoms  of  the  rivers,  and  the  rougii,  rock)',  mountain  roads. 

"  In  this  ditllculty,  I  ordered  a  little  skiff  to  be  made  at  Fort  Benton; 
worthy  Mr.  Dorson,  superintendent  of  the  fur  company,  had  the  very  great 
kindness  to  procure  me  three  oarsmen  and  a  pilot.  On  the  5lh  of  August  1 
bade  adieu  to  Fathers  Congiato  and  Iloecken,  and  dear  Brother  Magri,  and 
embarked  on  the  Missouri,  which  is  celebrated  for  dangers  of  navigation — 
snags  and  rapids  being  numerous  in  the  upper  river. 

"  We  descended  the  stream  about  2,400  miles  in  our  cockle-shell,  making 
fifty,  sixty,  and  sometimes,  when  the  wind  favored  us,  eighty  miles  a  dav. 
We  took  the  lirst  steamboat  we  met  at  Omaiia  City.  The  steamer  made 
about  700  miles  in  six  days  and  on  the  23d  of  September,  vigil  of  Our  L.ady 
of  Mercy,  we  entered  the  port  of  St.  Louis. 

"  During  this  long  trip  on  tlie  river  we  passed  the  niglits  in  the  opvn  air 
or  under  a  little  tent,  often  on  sandbanks,  to  avoid  the  troublesome  mosquitoes, 
or  on  the  skirts  of  a  plain,  or  in  an  untrodden,  thick  forest.  We  often  heard 
tiie  iiowlings  of  the  wolves;  anil  the  grunting  of  the  grizzly  bear,  the  king  of 
animals  in  these  jiarts,  disturbed  our  sleep,  but  without  alarming  us.  In  the 
desert  one  perceives  that  God  has  implanted  in  the  breast  of  tiie  wild  beasts 
the  fear  of  man.  In  the  desert,  also,  we  arc  cnat)!ed,  in  a  particular  way,  to 
admire  and  to  thank  that  Divine  Providence  which  watches  with  so  much 
solicitude  over  his  children. 

"  Tiiere  is  admirably  verifieil  the  text  of  St.  Matthew:  '  Consider  the 
birds  of  the  air,  they  sow  not,  but  your  Heavenly  Father  feeds  them;  are  ye 
not  of  much  more  value  than  they?'  Duiing  the  whole  route,  our  wants 
were  constantly  supplied;  yes,  we  lived  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  abundance. 
The  rivers  furnished  us  excellent  fisli,  water-fowl,  ducks,  geese,  and  swans; 
the  forests  and  plains  gave  us  fiuits  and  roots.  We  never  wanted  for 
game.       We    found    e\erywliere    either    imiiiense     herds    of     buffaloes,     or 


412  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

deer,  antelope,  mountain  sheep,  or  big-horns,  pheasants,  wild   turkeys,  and 
partridges. 

"  On  the  way,  along  the  Missouri,  1  met  thousands  of  Indians  of  different 
tribes — Crows,  Assiniboiiis,  Minatarics,  Mandans,  Rickaries,  Sioux,  etc.  I 
always  stopped  a  day  jr  two  with  them.  I  received  the  greatest  marks  of 
respect  and  affection  from  these  hitherto  untutored  children  of  the  plains  and 
mountains,  and  they  listened  to  my  words  with  the  utmost  attention.  For  many 
years  these  poor  tribes  have  desired  to  have  missionaries,  and  to  be  instructed. 

"  My  greatest,  I  may  say,  almost  my  only  consolation,  is  to  have  been 
the  instrument,  in  the  hand  of  Divine  Providence,  of  the  eternal  salvation  of 
a  great  number  of  little  cliildrcii;  of  about  nine  hundred  I  baptized,  many 
were  sickly,  and  seemed  only  to  wait  for  this  happiness  to  fly  to  God  to 
praise  Him  for  all  eternity. 

"To  God  alone  be  all  the  glory;  and  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  our 
most  humble  and  most  profound  thanks  for  the  protection  and  benefits 
received  during  this  long  journey.  After  having  traveled,  by  land  and  river, 
over  8,314  rniles,  and  6,950  on  sea,  without  any  serious  accident,  I  arriveil 
safe  and  sound  at  St.  Louis,  among  my  dear  brethren  in  Jesus  Christ.  I  am, 
with  the  most  sincere  respect,  "  Your  servant  in  Christ, 

"P.  J.  De  Smet,  S.J." 

The  magic  influence  of  the  Catholic  religion  in  transforming  the  Indian 
is  as  remarkable  in  our  own  time  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Brebeuf  and  Mar- 
quette. Many  of  the  tribes  converted  by  Father  De  Smet  and  his  apostolic 
companions  became  model  Christians.  We  have  room  to  recount  but  one 
instance — the  Skalzi  Indians. 

Speaking  of  this  tribe,  the  illustrious  black-gown  writes,  in  1S61:  "I 
visited  these  good  savages  for  the  llrst  time  in  the  summer  of  1S45,  on  which 
occasion  I  had  the  happiness  to  regenerate  all  their  little  children  in  tlie  holy 
waters  of  baptism,  as  well  as  a  large  number  of  adults.  I  saw  these  dear 
children  again  in  1S59;  and  the  visit  filled  me  with  inexpressible  joy,  because 
they  had  remained  faithful,  true  to  the  Faith,  and  fervent  and  zealous 
Christians. 

"  They  were  the  consolation  of  tl:e  missionaries,  and  shone  conspicuous 
by  their  virtues  among  tb.e  tribes  of  the  Rock)'  Mountains.  They  were 
especially  distinguished  by  an  admirable  simplicity,  a  great  charity,  and  a 
rare  honesty  in  all  their  dealings  with  their  neighbors,  and  an  innocence  of 
manner  worthy  of  the  primitive  Christians." 


CATHOLIC  CHCRCH  /.V  AMERICA  413 

Father  De  Smet  follows  this  by  a  short  account  of  the  tribe  and  country. 
"  Tlie  two  tribes  of  the  Koetenays  and  Flatbows,"  he  says,  "  number  over  a 
thousand  souls.  They  are  principally  divided  into  two  camps,  and  are  known 
in  their  country  under  the  name  of  Skalzi.  One  of  these  camps,  numbering 
about  three  hundred,  inhabits  sometimes  the  neighborhood  of  the  great  Flat- 
head Lake,  and  sometimes  the  great  Tobacco  Plain,  which  is  watered  by  the 
Koetenay  River — the  distance  is  about  seventy  miles. 

"  The  Tobacco  Plain  is  a  remarkable  spot,  situated  between  the  forty- 
ninth  and  fiftieth  degrees  of  north  latitude,  and  is  the  only  great  plain  pos- 
sessed by  this  camp.  It  is  about  fifty  or  sixty  miles  long,  by  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  in  width.  It  resembles  a  large  basin,  surrounded  by  lofty  mountains, 
wliich  form  a  vast  and  beautiful  amphitheatre,  and  presents  a  picturesque 
sight.  The  plain  has  all  the  appearance  of  the  dry  bed  of  a  vast  lake. 
Towards  the  south  the  valley  is  gravelly,  undulating,  and  covered  with  little 
hillocks,  and  patches  here  and  there  are  susceptible  of  cultivation;  the  north- 
ern portion,  on  the  contrary,  has  a  uniform  surface  and  a  considerable  extent 
of  excellent  arable  land. 

"  Though  the  land  is  very  elevated,  and  far  towards  the  north  the  tem- 
perature is  lemarkably  mild,  severe  cold  being  a  rare  occurrence,  and  the 
snow  is  seldom  deep;  it  falls  frequently  during  the  season,  but  disappears 
almost  as  it  falls,  absorbed,  perhaps,  by  the  rarefaction  of  the  atmosphere  at 
this  elevation,  or,  perhaps,  driven  off  by  the  southern  breeze,  which  blows 
almost  uninterruptedly  in  the  valley,  and  drives  the  snow  off  as  it  falls. 
Horses  and  horned  cattle  find  abundant  pasture  during  the  whole  year. 

"The  large  river,  called  indifferently  the  Koetenay,  the  McGilvray,  and 
the  Flatbow  River,  flows  through  the  entire  valley.  It  rises  to  the  north- 
west of  this  region,  and  its  course  is  towards  the  southeast  for  a  considerable 
distance.  The  waters  of  this  great  river  are  increased  by  a  large  number  of 
brooks  and  beautiful  rivulets,  which  have  their  source,  for  the  most  part,  in 
the  lovely  lakes  or  nuinerous  basins  of  these  beautiful  mountains.  Many  of 
these  streams  present  to  the  eye  the  most  charming  scenes  in  their  course. 
The  noise  of  their  waters  and  the  sweet  murmur  of  their  falls  are  heard  at 
some  distance,  and  the  eye  is  charmed  by  tiieir  descent  from  height  after 
height,  and  their  succession  of  cascades,  from  which  they  escape  to  the  plain, 
covered  with  foam,  and,  as  it  were,  exhausted  by  the  struggles  of  the  way. 
Tiiese  mountain  torrents  will  some  day  be  the  sites  of  mills  of  every 
description. 


414  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

"  Coal  exists  in  many  portions  of  tiie  country,  lead  is  found  in  ahundance, 
;ind  I  venture  to  say  that  more  precious  minerals  repose  in  the  bosom  of  the 
mountains,  and  will  one  day  be  brought  to  light  there. 

"  The  Indians  have  devoted  themselves  to  agriculture  for  some  years 
past.  They  cultivate  little  fields  of  maize,  barley,  oats,  and  potatoes,  all  of 
which  ripen.  It  is  rare  tliat  the  frost  injures  the  crops  before  the  season  of 
harvest.  Their  small  fields  cannot  be  extended,  owing  to  the  want  of  in- 
struments of  agriculture.  They  are  compelled  to  turn  the  earth  with 
instruments  of  the  most  primitive  construction,  such  as  Adam  may  have  used 
in  his  day.  The  pointed  stick,  made  of  a  very  hard  wood,  is  what  they  have 
used  from  ages  immemorial  to  dig  up  the  camash,  the  bitter-root,  the  wappa- 
too  {^sagitta  folia)^  the  caious,  or  biscuit-root,  and  other  vegetables  of  the 
same  description. 

"  These  Indians  are  very  industrious.  They  are  rarely  unemployed. 
Their  time  is  fully  occupied  in  making  bows  and  arrows,  lines  or  hooks,  or 
in  hunting  and  fishing,  or  seeking  roots  or  wild  fruits  for  their  numerous 
families.  They  extend  their  hunt  often  to  the  great  plains  of  the  Blackfeet 
and  the  Crows,  to  the  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  the  upper  waters  of 
the  Missouri  and  the  Saskatchawan.  Deprived  as  they  are  of  agricultural 
implements  and  fire-arms,  they  are  always  in  want,  and  they  may  be  said  to 
keep  a  perpetual  Lent. 

"  The  missionaries  furnished  them  with  a  few  plows  and  spades.  Last 
year  I  forwarded  to  them,  by  the  steamer  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  at 
St.  Louis,  some  necessary  agricultural  implements,  such  as  plows,  etc.;  but 
the  boat  was  burned  with  all  her  cargo,  above  the  Yellowstone  River. 

"  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  no  more  can  be  done  for  these  good 
Indians,  for,  of  all  the  mountain  tribes,  they  are  at  once  the  best  disposed  and 
the  most  necessitous.  The  beau  ideal  of  the  Indian  character,  uncontaminated 
by  contact  with  the  whites,  is  found  among  them.  What  is  most  pleasing  to 
the  stranger,  is  to  see  their  simplicity,  united  with  sweetness  and  innocence, 
keep  step  with  the  most  perfect  dignity  and  modesty  of  deportment.  The 
gross  vices  which  dishonor  the  red  man  on  the  frontiers  are  utterly  unknown 
among  them.     Tliey  are  honest  to  scrupulosity. 

"  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  during  the  forty  years  that  it  has  been 
trading  in  furs  with  them,  has  never  been  able  to  perceive  that  the  smallest 
object  had  been  stolen  from  them.  The  agent  of  the  company  takes  his  furs 
down  to  Colville  every  spring,  and  does  not  return  before  autumn.     During 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  41  ij 

his  absence  the  store  is  confided  to  the  care  of  an  Indian,  who  trades  in  the 
name  of  the  company,  and  on  the  return  of  the  agent,  renders  him  a  most 
exact  account  of  his  trust.  I  repeat  here,  what  I  stated  in  a  preceding  letter, 
that  the  store  often  remains  without  anyone  to  watch  it,  the  door  unlocked 
and  unbohed,  and  the  goods  are  never  stolen.  The  Indians  go  in  and  out, 
help  themselves  to  what  they  want,  and  always  scrupulously  leave  in  place 
of  whatever  article  they  take  its  exact  value. 

"  The  following  anecdote  will  serve  to  give  an  idea  of  the  delicacy  of 
conscience  of  these  good  Indians. 

"  An  old  chief,  poor  and  blind,  came  from  a  great  distance,  guided  by  his 
son,  to  consult  the  priest;  his  only  object  being  to  receive  baptism,  if  he  should 
be  considered  worthy  of  the  privilege.  He  stated  to  the  missionary,  that,  in 
spite  of  his  ardent  desire  to  be  baptized,  he  had  not  dared  to  approach  the 
priest  for  that  purpose,  owing  to  a  small  debt  of  two  beaver  skins  (say  ten 
dollars)  which  he  had  contracted. 

»(  My  poverty,'  said  he,  '  has  always  prevented  me  from  fulfilling  this 
obligation;  and  until  I  had  done  so,  I  dared  not  gratify  the  dearest  wish  of  my 
heart.  At  last  I  had  a  thought.  I  begged  my  friends  to  be  charitable  to  me. 
I  am  now  in  possession  of  a  fine  buffalo-robe;  I  wish  to  make  myself  worthy 
of  baptism.'  The  missionary,  accompanied  by  the  old  man,  went  to  the 
clerk  of  the  company  to  learn  the  particulars  of  the  debt.  The  clerk 
examined  the  books,  but  said  that  no  such  debt  existed. 

"  The  chief  still  insisted  on  paying,  but  the  clerk  refused  to  take  the  robe. 
'  Have  pity  on  me,'  at  last  exclaimed  the  worthy  old  man; '  this  debt  has  ren- 
dered me  wretched  long  enough ;  for  years  it  has  weighed  on  my  conscience. 
I  wish  to  belong  to  the  blameless  and  pure  prayer  (religion),  and  to  make 
myself  worthy  of  the  name  of  a  child  of  God.  This  buffalo-robe  covers  my 
debt,'  and  he  spread  it  on  the  ground  at  the  feet  of  the  clerk.  He  received 
baptism  aiui  returned  home  contented  and  happy. 

"A  young  Koetenay,  who  had  hccu  baptiztnl  in  infancy,  during  my  first 
visit  in  iS.}5,  had  emigrated,  with  his  parents,  to  the  Soushwaps,  in  the  moun- 
tainous regions  near  Frascr  River.  His  parents  desired  to  marry  him  to  a 
young  woman  who  was  as  yet  unbaptized;  he  had  a  sister  in  the  same  condi- 
tion. It  was  resolved  that  the  three  should  make  the  long  journey  of  in;iny 
weeks'  travel  to  reach  the  mission,  in  order  that  both  sacraments  might  be 
received. 

"On  their  arrival,  their  ardent  faith   and  praiseworthy  earnestness  were 


4i6  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

tlip  admiration  of  the  whole  village.  The  fervent  missionary,  Father 
Menetr)',  instructed  these  zealous  neophytes  and  p;epared  them  for  holy  bap- 
tism. The  young  man,  who  had  not  seen  a  priest  since  1S45,  had  prepared 
himself  to  approach  the  tribunal  of  penance  for  the  first  time,  in  order  to 
make  his  first  communion,  and  to  receive  tlie  nuptial  benediction  with  the 
proper  dispositions. 

"On  the  day  appointed  for  the  administration  of  all  these  sacraments,  the 
young  Koetenay  presented  himself,  with  an  humble  and  modest  air,  at  the 
confessional.  He  held  in  his  hands  some  bundles  of  cedar  chips,  about  the 
size  of  ordinary  matches,  and  divided  into  small  bunches  of  different  sizes. 
After  kneeling  in  the  confessional  and  saying  the  Confiteor,  he  handed  the 
little  bundles  to  the  priest.  '  These,  my  father,'  said  he,  'are  the  result  of  my 
examination  of  conscience.  This  bundle  is  such  a  sin.  Count  the  chips,  and 
you  will  know  how  many  times  I  have  committed  it.  The  second  bundle  is 
such  a  sin,'  and  so  he  continued  his  confession. 

"  His  confession  was  accompanied  with  such  sincere  signs  of  grief  that 
his  confessor  was  affected  to  tears.  It  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with 
admiration  for  the  simplicity  of  heart  which  led  our  young  savage  in  his 
desire  to  perform  this  duty  with  the  utmost  exactitude,  to  this  new  method  of 
making  a  confession;  but  still  more  admirable  is  the  adorable  grace  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  who  thus  sheds  His  gifts  upon  these.  His  poor  children  of  the 
desert,  and,  if  I  may  dare  to  say  so,  adapts  Himself  to  their  capacity. 

"  In  their  zeal  and  fervor,  the  Koetena\s  have  built  a  little  church  of 
round  logs  on  the  great  Tobacco  Prairie.  They  carried  the  logs,  which  aver- 
aged from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  in  length,  in  their  arms,  a  distance  of 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  raised  the  walls  of  the  new  church,  as  it 
were,  by  main  force.     The  exterior  is  covered  with  straw  and  sods. 

"  In  this  humble  house  of  the  Lord  they  meet  morning  and  evening  to 
offer  to  the  Great  Spirit  their  fervent  prayers — the  first-fruits  of  the  day. 
How  striking  is  the  contrast  between  this  little  church  of  the  desert  and  the 
magnificent  temples  of  civilization,  especially  in  Europe.  The  majesty  of 
these  churches,  their  fine  pictures,  the  sculpture  which  adorns  their  walls,  and 
their  imposing  proportions,  inspire  the  beholder  with  admiration  and  awe; 
yet,  on  entering  this  little  cabin  consecrated  to  the  Great  Spirit,  in  the  desert, 
erected  by  poor  Indians — on  contemplating  the  profound  recollection,  the 
sincere  piety  depicted  on  their  features — on  hearing  them  recite  their  prayers, 
which  seem  to  rise  from  the  bo'.tom  of  their  hearts,  it   is  difficult  to    refrain 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  417 

from  tears,  and  the  spectator  exclaims;  '  Iiulccil,  this  poor  and  humljlc 
church  is  tlie  abode  of  the  Lord,  and  the  house  of  prayer;  its  whole  beauty 
lies  in  the  piety,  zeal  and  fervor  of  those  who  enter  there!' 

"  In  this  luiinble  church  are  now  performed  all  the  religious  ceremonies 
of  baptism  and  marriage.  The  Indians  defer  them  until  the  appointed  season 
for  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries;  they  then  come  in  from  all  parts  of  the 
country.  '  How  beautiful  are  the  feet  of  those  who  announce  the  gospel  of 
peace.'  The  priest  of  this  mission  linds  the  truth  of  the  words,  '■yugiim 
incum  suave — ny  yoke  is  Svveet.'  No  sooner  has  lie  arrived  than  all  crowd 
round  him,  as  beloved  children,  to  greet,  after  a  long  absence,  a  father  whom 
they  tenderly  venerate.  Even  the  hands  of  infants  are  placed  in  those  of  the 
missionary  by  tlieir  mothers. 

"  A  long  conference  then  follows.  The  priest  gives  and  receives  all 
news  of  important  events  which  have  happened  since  the  last  meeting,  and 
regulates  with  the  chiefs  the  exercises  to  be  followed  during  his  present  visit. 
He  gives  two  instructions  a  day  to  adults,  and  catechises  the  children;  he 
helps  tiiem  to  examine  well  their  consciences,  and  to  make  a  good  confession; 
he  prepares  them  to  approach  worthily  the  holy  table,  instructs  the  catechu- 
mens and  admits  them  to  baptism,  together  with  the  children  born  during  his 
absence;  he  renews  and  blesses  all  new  marriages;  and,  like  a  father,  settles 
any  difliculties  which  may  lia\e  arisen.  Some  he  encourages  and  strengthens 
in  the  faith,  and  removes  the  doubts  and  sooliies  the  inquietudes  of  others.  In 
a  word,  he  encourages  all  these  good  neophytes  to  know  the  Lord,  to  serve 
Him  faithfully,  and  love  Him  with  all  their  hearts. 

"  If  the  days  of  the  missionary  arc  thus  filled  with  labor  and  fatigue,  he 
has  his  full  recompense  of  merit  and  consolation.  He  counts  them  among 
the  happiest  days  of  his  life.  The  Rev.  Fatiier  Meiietry,  their  missionary, 
during  his  visit  in  1S58,  baptized  fifty  children  and  thirty  adults,  blessed  forty 
marriages,  and  heard  over  five  hundred  confessions. 

"The  great  chief  of  the  Koctenays,  named  Michael,  recalls  in  the  midst 
of  his  tribe  the  life  and  virtues  of  the  ancient  patriarchs.  His  life  is  that  of 
a  good  and  tender  father,  surrounded  by  a  numerous  family  of  docile  and 
affectionate  children.  His  camp  numbers  four  hundred  souls.  They  are  all 
baptized,  and  they  walk  in  the  footsteps  of  their  worthy  chief.  Il  is  truly  a 
delightful  spectacle  ti>  liiul,  in  the  bosom  of  these  isolatctl  mountains  of  the 
Columbia  River,  a  tribe  of  poor  Indians  living  in  (he  greatest  purity  of  man- 
ners, and  leading  a  life  of  evangelic  simplicit)'.      They  arc  almost  deprived  of 


4i8  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

the  succors  of  religion,  :iini  receive  llie  visit  of  ;i  priest  hut  once   or   twice   in 
the  course  of  a  year." 

"In  1S71  Father  Do  Smet  sailed  for  Europe.  While  on  the  voyage  he 
met  with  an  unhappy  accident  that  was  serious  in  its  consequences.  On  one 
occasion,  a  few  clays  before  reaching  the  shores  of  the  OKI  World,  as  he  was 
descending  the  stairway  to  the  cabin,  a  huge  wave  struck  tlie  vessel,  and  the 
shock  was  sucli  tliat  tiie  hardy  and  venerable  missionary  was  thrown  to  tiie 
deck  below,  thus  breaking  one  of  his  ribs. 

Shortly  after  arriving  in  his  native  Belgium,  an  attack  of  kidney  ilisease 
added  to  the  injuries  from  which  he  was  already  suffering;  and,  at  one  time, 
his  friends  even  despaired  of  his  recovery.  I5ut  he  grew  better.  He  was 
made  a  Knight  of  the  Order  of  Leopold,  an  honor  which  few  attain,  and  one 
which  he  held  in  common  with  Marshal  MacMahon,  now  the  ex-president  of 
France. 

Father  De  Smet  returned  to  tlie  United  States,  reaching  St.  Louis  on 
April  25th,  1S72.  But  years  of  exposure,  together  with  recent  injuries,  had 
shattered  his  iron  constitution,  and  he  never  regained  his  general  good  health. 
It  was  felt  that  the  days  of  the  great  Jesuit  were  numbered,  when  the  physi- 
cians  decided  that  he  was  afflicted  with  Bright's  disease  of  the  kidney.  After 
much  suffering  he  calmly  breathed  his  soul  to  God,  surrounded  by  his  brother 
Jesuits,  in  his  seventy-second  year,  on  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  May,  1S73. 
He  died  in  his  own  room  at  the  St.  Louis  University,  where  he  had  often 
been  visited  in  his  last  illness  by  his  countless  friends  of  all  religious  creeds 
and  ranks  of  society.  His  honored  remains  were  borne  to  Florissant,  and 
there,  where  he  first  began  his  religious  career  in  Missouri,  rests  ail  that  19 
earthly  of  the  saintly  and  heroic  Father  Peter  John  de  Smet.  A  plain,  free- 
stone slab,  four  feet  by  eighteen  inches,  marks  his  last  resting-place,  having 
on  it  this  brief  inscription:  '■'■Natns  1 8  JFeb.,  iSoi ;  Ingressus  19  Nov.,  1S37; 
obiit  23  JMai,  1S73." 

Whether  in  health  or  sickness,  this  illustrious  man  was  as  simple  as  a 
child  in  his  manners.  To  the  last  he  was  cheerful  in  his  conversations,  and 
was  ever  ready  to  answer  questions  relating  to  his  travels,  missions,  and 
adventures  among  the  Indians.  His  narratives  were  recounted  in  such  clear, 
simple  language,  and  were  so  graphic,  graceful,  and  full  of  striking  incidents, 
that  even  children,  no  less  than  older  persons,  were  charmed  with  his  conver- 
sation 

•'I   never   knew   anyone,"   writes   Rev.  Walter   H.Hill    S.J.,  now  of 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  419 

Chicago,  "  who  could  relate  an  anecdote,  or  a  little  trait,  in  so  pleasing  a 
style  as  Father  De  Smet.  There  was  a  peculiar  charm  in  his  words,  and 
even  in  his  voice  and  countenance,  when  telling  those  little  narratives,  some- 
times luunorous,  oftentimes  edifying,  and  always  interesting." 

The  great  missionary  loved  the  company  of  cliildren.  He  would  some- 
times spend  an  hour  or  more  telling  them  stories  about  his  travels  among  the 
Indian  tribes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  and  often,  when  walking  the  streets 
of  St.  Louis,  groups  of  little  ones  woulil  crowd  around  him,  begging  him  to 
appoint  a  time  and  place  for  them  to  hear  him  relating  what  he  saw  when 
journeying  among  the  red  men  in  the  wilderness  of  the  far  west. 

Such  is  but  a  glimpse  of  tiie  manly  figure,  kind  ways,  and  lofty,  beautiful 
career  of  Father  De  Smet.  Most  of  the  Indian  missions  of  this  century 
would  have  been  nearly  impossil)le,  were  it  not  for  his  grand  zeal,  great  pru- 
dence, and  hardy  energy.  Boldly  penetrating  the  unknown  solitudes  of  the 
west,  he  conquered  the  almost  insurmountable  obstacles  that  beset  him  at 
every  step.  Witli  undaunted  heart,  he  faced  hostile  and  savage  tribes,  whose 
language  and  very  name  were  a  mystery  to  the  civilized  earth.  He  came,  he 
saw,  he  conquered;  but  not  like  the  pagan  Cxsar.  He  opened  heaven  to  the 
vanquished.  He  converted, baptized.  Christianized  the  wild  clans  of  the  west; 
and  liis  holy  and  tireless  apostolate  was  continued,  year  after  year,  almost  to 
the  very  day  of  his  departure  from  this  world. 


Cbaptcit  X\l. 


The  Venerable  WavQ&vct  Bourgeois. 


CHILDHOOD  AT  Troves,  in  France.— The  New  Spirit  of  Vocation.— Decides 
TO  Become  a  Nun. — Foundation  of  a  Community. — Sister  Margaret  Gives 
all  Her  Wealth.— The  Voyage  to  New  France.— Convent  Life  in  Mon- 
treal.— Penury  of  Home  and  Table. — Founding  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame.— Trials,  Toils  and  Consolations. — A  Blessed  Death. 

"  ^'  ONSPICUOUS  among  the  Catholic  heroes  and  heroines  of 
America  in  the  seventeenth  century,  siiincs  the  bright  name  of 
Margaret  Bourgeois.  She  was  born  in  the  city  of  Troyes,  France, 
on  the  17th  of  April,  1620.  Her  parents,  Abrani  Bourgeois  and 
Guillemette  Garnier,  were  remarkable  neither  for  wealth  nor 
wordly  distinction,  but  they  were  what  is  better — persons  of 
marked  virtue  and  high  ciiaracter. 

We  arc  told  that  in  her  childhood  Margaret  was  distinguished  among 
her  little  companions  by  her  aptitude  in  learning  to  read  and  write,  her  love 
of  labor,  and  her  tact  in  well  and  speedily  performing  anything  which  she  was 
given  to  do.  She  was  also  especially  noted  for  those  happy  dispositions  which 
announce  a  capacity  for  piety,  virtue  and  good  sense. 

Even  at  the  most  tender  age,  her  elevation  of   mind   and  deep  love  of 

religion  showed  itself  in   various  ways.     Scarcely  had  the   little  girl  reached 

her  tenth  year,  when  she  was  often  observed  assembling  children,  and  instill- 

420 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  L\'  AMERICA  42 1 

ing  into  their  minds,  ideas  of  duty  and  virtue.  Vet,  up  to  this  time  she  had 
never  seen  a  religious  community.  Such  is  a  ghmpse  at  the  childhood  of 
Margaret  Bourgeois.  "  May  not  this  be  considered,"  says  the  Abb6  Ran- 
sonet,  ''as  a  spark  of  that  admirable  zeal  which  inflamed  her  soul  in  after  years  ?" 

About  this  period  little  Margaret  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  her  devoted 
mother.  Two  or  three  years  passed  away  under  the  watchful  eye  of  her 
good,  enlightened  father;  and  her  prudence  and  sound  judgment  in  the  man- 
agement of  affairs  developed  so  rapidly  that  he  no  longer  hesitated  to  jjlace 
his  daughter  at  the  head  of  his  household.  To  her  this  new  appointment 
was  a  blessing.  It  was  a  protection  against  idleness,  and  happily  tended  to 
preserve  her  pure  and  innocent  in  the  critical  period  of  life  at  which  she  had 
now  arrived — 

"The  shining  days  when  life  is  new, 
And  all  is  bright  as  morning  dew." 

Meanwhile  young  Margaret  felt  satisfied  in  avoiding  notable  defects.  It 
was  not,  however,  before  her  twenty-first  year,  that  her  desire  after  some- 
thing  better  and  higher  became  enlarged  by  the  following  incidents: 

VVhde  attending  one  of  the  churches  on  the  festival  of  the  Holy  Rosary, 
the  concourse  of  people  did  not  permit  the  procession,  as  usual,  to  be  made 
in  the  inclosure,  and  it  was  conducted  through  the  street.  It  passed  before 
the  famous  and  beautiful  church  of  Notre  Dame.  At  this  moment,  Margaret 
looked  towards  the  statue  of  the  Most  Holy  Virgin,  placed  on  the  frontis- 
piece of  the  grand  edifice.  To  her  religious  eye  this  image  was  no  stranger; 
but  now  it  appeared  to  her  of  a  loveliness  so  extraordinary,  that  her  heart 
was  touched  and  filled  with  heavenly  sentiments.  Hitherto  she  had  been 
fond  of  dress,  and  affected  neatness  and  style.  For  these  things  the  young 
lady  now  felt  a  profound  contemjit.  Her  sweet  and  cheerful  disposition  had 
caused  her  to  be  much  sf)ught  in  society,  in  which  she  took  no  common 
pleasure;  but  at  once  she  separated  from  all  that  she  formerly  .seemed  to 
cherish.  Now,  the  gay  and  amiable  Margaret  cared  for  naught  but  the  things 
of  heaven.  This  change  was  indeed  sudden,  but  it  was  none  the  less 
permanent. 

Taking  Rev.  Father  Jandret,  a  wise  and  virtuous  priest,  who  was  director 
of  the  Carmelite  nuns,  as  her  confessor,  Miss  Bourgeois  soon  made  rapid 
progress  in  the  way  of  virtue.  Iler  life  was  markeil  by  tender  piety,  con- 
tempt of  the  world,  self-denial,  ct)mpassion  for  the  poor — in  short,  she  became 
the  personification  of  all  that  is  good. 


422  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

God,  desirous  of  blessing  a  heart  whicli  He  had  so  highly  ornamented 
with  His  most  precious  gifts,  placed  it  in  the  happy  necessity  of  never  dividing 
its  affections,  by  inspiring  Miss  Bourgeois  to  consecrate  herself  to  Him  by  a 
vow  of  virginity.  She  submitted  this  inspiration  to  Father  Jandret,  by  whom 
it  was  disapproved.  He  forbade  her  to  pronounce  any  such  vow  before  the 
age  of  thirty.  But  the  enlightened  priest,  afterwards  observing  and  admiring 
the  operations  of  divine  grJce  in  this  highly  privileged  soul,  permitted  her  to 
unite  herself  more  intimately  to  God  by  the  sacred  vow  of  virginity.  This 
was  in  her  twenty-third  year.     Some  time  later,  she  added  the  vow  of  poverty. 

Miss  Bourgeois  was  thus  advancing  in  the  spiritual  life,  when,  one  daj', 
as  Father  Jandret  was  enlarging  on  the  advantages  of  the  religious  state,  she 
felt  a  strong  inclination  to  become  a  nun.  She  sought  admittance  as  a  mem- 
ber among  the  Carmelites,  and  also  the  Poor  Clares.  By  neither  was  the 
young  lady  accepted.  Providence,  it  seems,  blinded  these  religious  to  the 
merit  of  the  applicant,  that  no  obstacle  might  prevent  the  execution  of  the 
decrees  of  Heaven. 

About  this  time  Father  Jandret  was  busily  engaged  in  forming  the 
plan  of  a  new  religious  community  of  women.  He  tells  us  that  our 
Divine  Lord,  at  His  ascension,  left  three  examples  to  the  devout  sex,  namely : 
Mary  Magdalen,  Martha,  and  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin.  The  first  is  the 
model  of  contemplative  souls;  the  second  that  of  active  and  exterior  charity 
while  the  last  included  both  contemplative  and  active  charity.  It  was  the  last 
which  this  good  priest  intended  to  propose  to  his  community.  The  rule 
which  he  laid  down  for  its  guidance  had  been  examined  and  approved  by 
several  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne,  and  Father  Jandret  felt  that  the  moment  was 
at  hand  to  realize  his  long-cherished  expectations.  To  Miss  Bourgeois  and 
two  other  young  ladies  he  gave  the  rule  to  be  observed. 

For  that  purpose  the  three  novices  retired  to  a  spacious  apartment  givey 
them  by  Miss  De  Chuly,  sister  to  the  famous  DeMaisonneuve,  then  governor 
of  Montreal,  Canada.  One  of  these  pious  young  ladies  died  shortly  after,  and 
a  second  withdrew.  This  ended  the  brief  career  of  the  new  community. 
Father  Jandret  gave  up  the  design  as  a  fruitless  attempt.  As  for  Sister  Bour- 
geois she  derived  lasting  advantages  from  this  short  experience  i  n  the  clois 
ter.  The  efforts  she  then  m.ade,  under  the  direction  of  this  pious  and  learned 
priest,  served  as  a  light  in  after  years  to  guide  her  in  the  great  undertaking 
she  so  fortunately  completed  without  any  human  assistance  in  the  wilds  of 
Canada,  on  the  banks  of  the  majestic  St.  Lawrence. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  '  423 

In  the  meantime  her  father  fell  ill  and  died.  The  loving  care  shown  by 
his  darling  daughter  on  tliis  sad  occasion  demonstrates  how  far  virtue  enhances 
filial  affection. 

No  sooner  did  Sister  Bourgeois  wipe  the  tears  of  sorrow  from  her  eyes, 
than  she  devoted  herself  to  the  noble  activity  of  watching  over  unprotected 
innocence.  But  what  uncommon  virtue  does  not  this  imply?  Unquestion- 
ably a  large  share  of  labor,  prayer,  mortification,  abstraction  from  worldly 
thoughts,  subdued  jiassions  and  self-annihilation.  It  was  certainly  from  the 
familiar  practice  of  these  virtues  that  she  was  ever  stimulated  to  what  was 
beautiful,  great,  noble,  and  difficult,  for  the  love  of  God,  and  her  neighbor, 
as  the  following  incident,  which  is  selected  from  many  others,  will  attest: 

One  day  sister  Bourgeois  was  informed  that  an  amiable  and  promisino- 
girl  had  been  carried  off  by  dissolute  men.  Her  very  heart  bled  at  the  recital 
of  the  daring  outrage.  Arming  herself  with  a  crucifix,  she  fled  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  innocent  one,  and  arrived  just  in  time  to  extricate,  to  deliver  the 
lamb  from  the  grasp  of  the  wolves.  On  approaching  the  abode  of  these  dia- 
bolical wretches  her  moral  courage  increased,  and  she  conjured  them  in  the 
name  of  God,  whose  crucified  likeness  she  presented,  to  give  up  their  prey. 
But  crime  was  enshrined  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  their  cruel  hearts.  To  be 
freed  from  the  importunities  of  this  courageous  lad)-  they  presented  a  pistol, 
threatening  her  with  instant  death  if  she  did  not  at  once  retire.  But  it  was  to 
no  purpose.  She  thought  the  very  sacrifice  of  her  life  to  be  of  little  consid- 
eration, provided  she  saved  the  sweet  and  unprotected  girl  from  infamy. 

"  Wretches,"  exclaimed  Sister  Bourgeois,  with  more  than  human  energy, 
"it  is  Jesus  Christ  Himself  whom  you  thus  attack  in  the  person  of  His  chil- 
dren. Know  that  sooner  or  later  He  will  take  revenge  on  your  sacrilegious 
temerity!"  This  apostrophe  had  an  immediate  and  electrical  effect.  The 
trembling  victim  was  restored  to  her  deliverer.  Willi  what  joy  and  grati- 
tude did  the  beating  heart  of  this  pure,  amiable  girl,  testify  its  feelmgs  to  its 
Savior!  Nor  was  she  henceforth  to  be  separated  from  her  benefactress;  she 
followed  her  to  Canada,  where  she  became  an  ornament  to  the  infant  estab- 
lishment of  Sister  Bourgeois. 

Sister  Bourgeois,  while  thus  laboring  for  the  salvation  of  others,  failed 
not  to  watch  over  her  own  soul.  Like  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  she  chas- 
tised her  body,  and  brought  it  imikr  subjection,  lest  after  contributing  lo  the 
salvation  of  others,  she  might  be  rejected  herself. 

Heaven   was  pleased   with   her   untiring   efforts.      We  are  told  that  for 


424  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

several  months,  after  rcceivinj^  IIolv  Cominunion,  she  frcqut'iitlv  felt  licr 
heart  inflameil  witli  an  inexpressible  love,  which  even  appeared  exteriorly;  and 
on  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  \'irgin,  probably  in  the  year  1650,  durinjj 
the  procession  of  the  most  holy  sacrament  she  raised  her  eyes  in  adoration  to 
the  Sacred  Host,  and  beheld  a  child  of  incomparable  beauty.  These  favors 
were  succeeded  by  a  more  distinct  knowledge  of  the  designs  of  God.  In 
order  to  unfold  them,  we  must  go  back  a  few  years. 

In  1640,  De  Maisonneuve  assumed,  for  the  first  time,  the  office  of  gover- 
nor of  Montreal.  On  his  departure  from  Troyes,  the  inms  of  the  order  of 
Father  Fourrier  earnestly  entreated  to  be  allowed  to  accompany  him,  to 
establish  a  branch  of  their  community  in  the  new  colony.  Had  he  hearkened 
to  the  impulse  of  his  zeal,  he  would  have  most  certainly  complied;  but  pruil- 
ence  required  that  he  should  wait  for  a  more  favorable  moment.  He  visited 
his  native  land  some  years  subsequently.  The  ladies,  of  course,  reiterated 
their  demand;  and  a  renewal  of  promises  was  the  only  reply  of  De 
Maisonneuve. 

In  1653,  De  Maisonneuve  returneil  a  second  time  to  France.  About  this 
period  Sister  Bourgeois  perceived  in  her  sleep  a  person  whose  garb  was  p.ii  fly 
ecclesiastical  and  partly  civilian,  such  as  the  French  clergy  were  wont  to  wear 
in  traveling.  This  dream  made  a  more  lasting  impression  on  her  mind  than 
the  ordinary  visions  of  the  night  ever  produced. 

Some  time  after,  as  she  was  talking  with  one  of  the  nuns  at  the  grate  in 
the  convent  of  Notre  Dame,  Governor  De  Maisonneuve,  whom  she  had  never 
seen,  and  of  whose  arrival  she  was  perfectly  ignorant,  came  to  the  convent. 
She  no  sooner  saw  him,  than  she  exclaimed:  "Behold  my  priest — the  \ery 
same  I  saw  in  my  dream !" 

She  was  fully  convinced  that  the  vision  was  supernatural.  She  felt  tliat 
God  thereby  gave  her  to  understand  that  He  had  appointed  her  for  the  oper- 
ation of  some  good  work  conjointly  with  De  Maisonneuve,  who  was  then 
nothing  more  than  a  secular  as  to  his  state  of  life,  but  who  possessed  the 
eminent  virtues  of  an  ecclesiastic,  particularly  those  of  zeal  and  prudence. 

Without  further  delay,  Sister  Bourgeois  presented  herself  to  this  gentle- 
man, to  pass  under  his  protection  to  the  wilds  of  the  Canadian  forests,  there 
to  open  a  school  for  the  instruction  of  the  Indian  girls.  Her  offer  was  grate- 
fully accepted. 

Here  was  a  virtuous  lady,  alone,  under  the  protection  of  an  officer,  cross- 
ing to  a  yet  unknown,  uncivilized   part  of   the  globe,  guided  by  naught  save 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  425 

the  bright  star  of  confidence  in  God!     The  consideration  of  licr  dehcate  situa- 
tion ahxrmed  her  modesty. 

The  acJinovvledged  prudence  of  the  governor  of  Montreal  did  not  quite 
tranciuiiize  her.  Ordinary  decorum  seemed  to  condemn  such  a  step.  But  in 
the  end  faith  triumphed  over  fear.  Her  enlightened  guide,  Father  Jandret, 
fully  convinced  that  his  penitent's  call  was  from  the  Father  of  light,  wisely 
thought  that  no  diiliculty  should  stop  its  execution.  He,  however,  referre<l 
her  to  an  enlightened  priest  to  whom  she  had  sometimes  revealed  her  con- 
science. The  latter  likewise,  after  three  days  of  deep  deliberation,  came  to 
the  same  conclusion  as  Father  Jandret. 

The  bishop  of  Troyes  was  then  absent  from  his  metropolis;  and  his 
vicar-general  was  consequently  consulted  on  the  subject.  After  recommend- 
ing it  to  God,  whom  he  ardently  piayed  to  direct  him,  he,  too,  concurred  in 
the  opinion  of  Father  Jandret.  This  agreement  of  sentiment  quite  decided 
the  courageous  Margaret  Bourgeois. 

In  vain  did  a  scrupulous  and  timid  critic  declaim  against  the  indiscretion 
of  this  resolution.  Thesuccess  which  followed  proves  a  suflicient  justifica- 
tion of  the  proceeding.  It  was  even  justified  by  the  miraculous  approbation 
of  tliL-  Holy  Mother  of  God.  Sister  Bourgeois  was  one  morning  alone  in 
her  apartment,  perfectly  awake,  and  pondering  over  occurrences  which  had 
no  relation  to  her  departure  for  Canada,  when  suddenly  there  appeared  before 
her  a  majestic  and  beautiful  lady,  clothed  in  white,  who  addressed  her  in  these 
words;  "Depart,  I  will  not  forsake  you,"  and  instantly  disappeared.  A  ray 
of  divine  light,  to  which  her  heart  was  ever  open,  as  the  bosom  of  the  sun- 
flower is  expanded  to  the  genial  rays  of  the  sun,  assured  her  that  this  person- 
age was  no  other  than  the  Mother  of  God.  She  felt  a  renewal  of  consola- 
tion and  strength. 

In  the  beginning  of  February,  1653,  Sister  Bourgeois,  having  attained 
her  thirt\  -third  year,  distributed  what  she  possessed  in  alms,  and  without  dis- 
closing her  intention  to  her  family,  set  out  for  Canada.  Her  uncle,  Mr. 
Cossard,  and  Miss  Ue  Chuly  were  then  going  to  Paiis.  The  sister,  uniler 
some  plausible  pretense,  accompanied  them  to  the  capital.  Scarcely  had  they 
anived,  when  Mr.  Cossaid  was  recalled  to  Troyes  on  urgent  business;  how. 
ever,  before  he  left  Paris,  his  niece  begged  him  to  accompany  her  to  some 
notary  puiilic,  in  whose  presence  she  openly  declared  her  intentions,  and  at 
the  same  time  signed  a  contract  that  her  inheritance  should  be  bestowed  on 
her  brother  and  sister,  of  whom  Mr.  Cossard  was  guardian.    The  imde  was 


426  TRIALS  AND   TRIUMPHS  OF   THE 

startled  v/itli  astonishment,  and  remained  for  some  tijne  in  deep  silence, seem- 
ing to  anticipate  a  revocation  of  the  deed.  Being  disappointed  in  his  anticipa- 
tions, he  used  every  effort  to  dissuade  liis  niece  from  her  course.  Affection, 
tenderness,  and  even  ridicule  were  employed,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  Margaret 
was  inllexible. 

On  Mr.  Cossard's  return  into  Troyes,  great  excitement  was  created  liy 
the  unexpected  intelligence.  Relations,  friends,  m  fact,  the  entire  city,  was 
in  movement,  and  dozens  of  letters  were  dispatched.  But  the  ties  of  nature 
and  the  efforts  of  human  prudence  avail  naught  when  opposed  to  the  designs 
of  God. 

On  account  of  the  dress  which  our  heroine  assumed,  she  now  became 
generally  known  as  Sister  Bourgeois. 

On  her  arrival  at  Paris,  she  found  De  Maisonncuve  and  departed  for 
Orleans  alone.  Tills  circumstance  led  to  a  suspicion  of  her  virtue,  and  at  tlie 
hotel  where  the  stage  stopped  she  was  only  miraculously  preserved  from 
insult,  ^\'ith  the  most  heartfelt  gratitude,  the  courageous  sister  returned 
thanks  to  God  for  this  special  jMotection,  and  set  out  for  Nantes. 

On  her  way  there,  her  influence  was  so  great  among  the  passengers  that 
they  daily  recited  with  her  the  Office  of  tlie  Blessed  Virgin,  and  said  the 
Rosary.  She  even  prevailed  on  the  rowers  to  proceed  during  the  night, con- 
trary to  their  custom,  that  the  little  crew  might  have  the  advantage  of  com- 
plying with  the  precept  of  the  Church,  by  assisting  at  Mass  on  Sunday. 

Landing  at  Nantes,  she  immediately  inquired  for  the  abode  of  Mr.  Le  Coq, 
a  merchant  of  that  city,  whose  dwelling  was  assigned  by  De  Maisonneuve 
as  the  rendezvous  of  the  passengers  for  Canada.  This  merchant  was  known 
at  Nantes  by  a  different  name — that  of  De  la  Bessoniere.  The  sister's  inquiries 
were  therefore  vain  for  a  length  of  time;  at  last,  she  providentially  infjuired 
again — of  a  gentleman  whom  she  accidentally  met — If  lie  knew  such  a  person 
as  Mr.  Le  Coq.  The  gentleman  happened  to  be  the  very  individual  she  so 
anxiously  sought.  De  Maisonneuve  had  already  acquainted  him  by  letter  of 
her  arrival  in  Nantes.  She  was  therefore  most  cordially  received,  and  lodged 
In  his  own  residence  till  her  departure  for  Canada. 

In  the  interval  which  elapsed  she  chose  for  confessor  a  religious  priest, 
to  whom  she  confided  her  past  and  present  intentions.  She  likewise  told  him 
that  she  had  declined,  when  in  Paris,  the  offer  of  admittance  into  a  religious 
community  for  which  she  formerly  felt  some  inclination.  The  confessor, who 
belongi  d   to    this   oidcr,  unhesitatingly  decided   that  she  should   accept  the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  427 

pioffcred  proposal ;  and  recommended  her  to  write  instantly  to  that  effect. 
Again,  her  docile  and  gentle  mind  was  cast  into  an  abyss  of  perplexity, 
respecting  the  will  of  her  Divine  Master.  In  this  dilemma,  to  whom  could 
she  have  recourse  but  to  God  who  mercifully  invites  those  who  suffer  and 
are  heavy  laden  to  come  to  Ilim  for  refreshment?  In  the  most  bewildered 
state,  she  threw  herself  at  the  feet  of  this  only  true  Comforter,  in  the  chapel 
of  the  Capuchin  friars.  There  her  pure  and  humble  heart  overflowed  with 
feelings  of  faith,  and  hope,  and  love.  There,  also,  on  that  very  altar,  at  the 
feet  of  her  hidden  God,  she  was  relieved  from  all  fears  and  doubts.  Instantly, 
lie  whom  the  winds  and  seas  obey  stilled  the  agitated  waters,  and  peace,  con- 
fidence, and  Divine  light  assured  her  that  she  was  destined  for  Canada. 

Notwithstanding  the  Divine  assurance,  however,  she  thought  herself 
obliged  to  comply  with  the  injunctions  of  her  confessor.  She  accordingly 
wrote  two  letters  to  Paris,  to  which,  by  a  particular  appointment  of  Provi- 
dence, no  answer  was  returned. 

In  this  state  of  things.  Governor  De  Maisonneuve  arrived  at  Nantes. 
On  his  arrival,  an  anonymous  letter  was  sent  him  to  prevail  on  Sister  Bour- 
geois to  become  a  Carmelite  nun.  This  communication  was  disregarded,  and 
served  rather  to  induce  De  Maisonneuve  to  strain  every  nerve  to  strengthen 
the  intention  of  the  good  sister  to  continue  what  she  had  so  well  begun. 

In  the  meantime,  her  unassuming  manners  won  the  esteem  and  affection 
of  the  family  of  Mr.  De  la  Bessoni6re  to  a  point  rarely  equaled.  Mr.  De  la 
Bessoniere  declined  receiving  any  compensation  for  board  and  lodging,  and 
begged  the  sister  to  accept,  for  her  personal  comfort,  the  handsome  present 
of  a  bed  and  bedding,  with  a  iiuantity  of  fresh  water  which  he  had  put  on 
board  for  her  use,  knowing  that  wine  hud  long  been  deemed  a  superfluous 
luxury.  Everything  was  now  prepared  for  the  separation  of  tiiis  Catholic 
heroine  from  all  that  was  dear  to  her  noble  and  affectionate  heart.  What 
conflicting  emotions  and  hopes  and  fears  must  have  agitated  her  mind  when 
on  the  point  of  exiling  herself  from  the  cherished  associations  of  her  child- 
hood and  youth;  and  of  changing  the  bright,  sunny  skies  of  her  loved  France 
for  the  snowy  wilds,  icy  atmosphere,  and  unexplored  wastes  of  Canada  ? 
But  this  lofty  woman  rose  with  the  dilllculties  of  her- position.  She  countetl 
no  sacrifice.     Ilcr  loss  was  her  gain. 

On  the  3  2(1  of  September,  1653,  after  a  long  ami  adventurous  voyage, 
tliis  holy  daughter  of  France,  chosen  from  among  thousands,  set  foot  in 
Canada — that  promised  land  which  she  so  ardently  desired  to  reach. 


428  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Canada  was  clisco\eicd  in  1534  l>y  the  French,  who  gave  it  the  name  of 
New  France  ;  hut  it  couUl  scarcely  be  called  an  established  colony  before 
i6oS,  the  year  in  which  the  great  Champlain  founded  Quebec. 

At  the  date  of  which  we  write — 1653 — it  was,  in  the  words  of  Ran- 
sonet,  "  one  immense  forest,  interspersed  by  rivers  and  lakes,  which  renders 
the  climate  extremely  cold,  notwithstanding  its  geographical  situation  in  the 
temperate  zone.  Unless  tiie  utmost  precaution  is  taken,  an  ear  or  a  hand 
will  be  frozen  in  an  imperceptible  lapse  of  time,  which  will  mortify  and  fall 
off,  if  we  have  the  imprudence  to  present  either  to  the  fire,  instead  of  applying 
snow.  This  excessive  cold  is  succeeded  by  such  intense  heat,  that  the  grain 
is  sown  and  reaped  in  the  space  of  three  months. 

"  The  principal  river,"  continues  Ransonet,  "  is  the  majestic  St.  Lawrence, 
which  will  bear  on  its  icy  bosom  the  heaviest-laden  vehicle,  for  the  space  of 
six  or  seven  long  months.  This  immense  body  of  water  is  twenty-five 
leagues  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  contains  lakes  of  600  leagues  in  circumference. 
It  is  navigable  for  ships  150  leagues  from  the  ocean.  Its  waters  at  Niagara 
form  a  most  stupendous  cataract,  falling  perpendicularl\-  with  an  incredible 
shock  over  a  precipice  of  200  feet. 

"  The  natives  of  this  barbarous  country  are  Indians,  well-formed,  mus- 
cular, and  beardless.  Their  complexion  would  be  tolerably  fair,  did  they  not 
destroy  it  by  friction  of  oil  and  paint  of  many  colors.  At  all  seasons  of  the 
year,  these  children  of  the  forest  go  bareheaded.  In  winter  they  roll  them- 
selves in  skins,  in  summer  the  men  suspend  some  loose  covering  from  the 
belt,  and  the  Indian  woman  is  half  clothed  with  a  kind  of  shirt,  that  descends 
not  quite  so  low  as  the  knee,  the  remainder  of  the  body  being  exposed. 
They  live  partly  on  game,  partly  on  horse  or  dog  flesh  that  die  of  disease  or 
old  age.  This  is  always  eaten  without  bread.  They  have,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  French  settlements,  small  plantations  of  Indian  corn,  with  which 
they  make  a  kind  of  porridge  called  sagamite. 

"The  Indians  have  no  fixed  habitations,  but  wander  in  tribes  from  place 
to  place,  according  as  necessity  or  fancy  guides  them.  They  lodge  in  huts 
or  tents  of  leaves  of  bark,  stitched  together.  Nothing  is  more  cruel  or  more 
ferocious  in  war  than  these  barbarians;  their  revenge  is  not  even  satisfied  by 
death.  They  scalp,  burn,  suck  the  blood,  open  the  bodies,  drag  out  the 
entrails,  and  eat  the  heart  of  their  victims;  nor  are  they  even  then  satisfied. 
Every  torment  that  imagination  can  suggest  is  exhausted.     And  the  daughter 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  429 

of  the  forest  is  not  less  cruel  than  the  sterner  sex;  indeed,  it  is  said  that  they 
even  surpass  the  men  in  refined  cruelty. 

"The  age  of  loveliness  itself  is  thus  schooled  to  barbarity;  for  while  the 
savage  parent  is  thus  gratifying  his  brutal  feelings,  the  children  dance  around 
and  insult  the  unfortunate  sufferer,  calling  him  by  the  appellation  of  woman, 
if  he  utters  a  complaint  or  gives  a  sign  of  sensibility  in  the  midst  of  their 
atrocities.  This  cruelty,  barbarous  as  it  may  appear,  is  not  to  be  compared 
to  the  desperate  courage  evinced  by  the  vanquished  Indian.  He  is  seen 
enduring  the  dreadful  punishment  of  fire  and  sword,  quietly  singing  and 
reproaching  the  executioners  that  they  want  ingenuity,  thus  stimulating  them- 
to  new  cruelties. 

"  With  the  exception  of  a  few  converted  by  the  missionaries,  the  savages 
are  generally  idolaters.  The  principal  object  of  their  fearful  adoration  is  a 
malevolent  spirit  which  they  call  manitou.  To  this  they  offer  sacrifice  of 
propitiation.  Then-  manner  of  sacrificing  is  to  throw  tobacco  into  the  river 
or  sea,  a  ceremony  tliey  never  omit  before  a  voyage  is  undertaken. 

"  The  French  have  built  three  principal  towns  in  Canada — Quebec,  Three 
Rivers,  and  Ville  Marie  (Montreal).  Quebec,  the  capital,  is  the  residence  of 
a  bishop,  a  governor — who  is  at  the  same  time  governor  of  New  France 
and  of  the  executive  council.  The  reverend  gentlemen  of  St.  Sulpice  arc 
seigneurs  of  the  entire  island  of  Montreal ;  they  have  propagated  Catholicity 
by  multiplying  the  numi)er  of  laborers  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  Indeed, 
the  revenue  of  their  whole  seigneurie  is  totally  devoted  in  the  cause  of  the 
Gospel." 

Though  Sister  Bourgeois  landed  at  Quebec,  she  did  not  remain  there. 
The  town  that  bore  tlie  name  of  Mary,  her  Protectress,  was  the  real  point  of 
attraction.  Accordingly,  she  proceeded  to  Montreal  with  Governor  De 
Maisonncuve.  This  island  was  then  nothing  more  than  a  dreary,  desolate 
forest,  so  much  so  that  it  could  not  afford  even  a  cottage  in  which  to  offer  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  A  tent  was  the  only  temple  of  the  living  God, 
and  a  tree  of  the  proud  forest  the  only  steeple  ! 

Now  had  dawned  the  solemn  day  on  which  Sister  Bourgeois'  w^ishcs 
were  to  be  realized.  The  offspring  of  the  Indian  and  the  child  of  the  French 
were  seated  to  receive  gratuitously  that  instruction  which  tends  to  form  the 
untutored  savage  and  the  docile  French  heart;  yet  both  received  the  science 
of  sciences  on  which  all  human  knowledge  is  based — the  science  of  sal- 
vation.      Who  could  describe   the  activity  of  Sister  Bourgeois'  zeal  in  this 


430  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

arduous  task?  With  what  delight  she  goes  from  tent  to  tent,  to  enlighten 
the  young,  when  circumstances  prevent  the  half-clad  children  of  nature  from 
thronging  around  her;  nor  did  she  limit  her  untiring  attentions  and  charity. 
She  watched  and  served  the  sick  with  maternal  care,  even  the  dead  received 
from  her  benevolent  hands  the  last  sad  services.  She  washed  and  repaii  cil  tlic 
clothes  of  the  poor  soldier;  in  a  word,  she  is  an  eye  and  a  hand  to  all — iicillicr 
the  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  nor  the  insupportable  rigor  of  the  Canadian 
winter,  nor  the  almost  intolerable  heat  of  summer,  nor  the  fear  of  the  savages, 
nor  the  wild  disposition  of  the  Indian  children — nothing,  in  short,  seemed 
capable  of  damping  for  a  moment  her  fervent  zeal  and  boundless  charity. 

Such  is  an  abridgement  of  the  first  five  years  Sister  Bourgeois  spent  in 
Montreal! 

Havuig  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  country  in  five  years,  this 
heroic  lady  judiciously  concluded  that  she  alone  was  inadequate  to  accomplish 
all  that  the  wants  of  the  people  required.  The  idea  of  forming  a  new  relig- 
ious community,  on  the  plan  of  that  formerly  attempted  by  Father  Jandret, 
at  Troyes,  now  engrossed  all  her  attention.  To  find  persons  for  that  purpose 
in  Canada  was  as  yet  quite  impossible.  She,  therefore,  decided  to  cross  the 
perilous  deep  in  search  of  young  and  devoted  hearts  to  share  in  her  apostoli- 
cal labors. 

She  did  not  seek  in  vain.  On  her  return  she  was  accompanied  by  four 
excellent  young  ladies — the  Misses  Crolo,  Raisin,  IIj'oux,  and  Chatcl.  Their 
merit,  virtue,  and  bravery  rendered  them  wortliy  of  becoming  the  companions 
of  the  heroic  Margaret  Bourgeois.  But  at  that  day  no  majestic  steamers  cut 
the  Atlantic  with  their  iron  keels;  and  a  voyage  across  the  stormy  ocean  was 
generally  a  most  perilous  and  soul-trying  journey.  "On  the  2d  of  Julj', 
1659,"  writes  Francis  Parkman,  "the  ship  St.  Andri5  lay  in  the  harbor  of 
Rochelle,  crowded  with  passengers  for  Canada.  She  had  served  two  years 
(IS  a  hospital  for  marines,  and  was  infected  with  a  contagious  fever.  Includ- 
ing the  crew,  some  two  hundred  persons  were  on  board,  more  than  half  of 
whom  were  bound  for  Montreal.  Most  of  these  were  sturdy  laborers,  arti- 
sans, peasants,  and  soldiers,  together  with  a  troop  of  young  women,  their 
present  or  future  partners,  a  portion  of  the  company  set  down  on  the  old  rec- 
ord as  'sixty .  virtuous  men  and  thirty-two  pious  girls.'  There  were  two 
priests,  also,  Vignal  and  Le  Maitre,  both  destined  to  a  speedy  death  at  the 
hands  of  the  Iroquois.  But  the  most  conspicuous  among  these  passengers  for 
Montreal  were  two  groups  of  women  in  the  habit  of  nuns,   under  the  direc- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


431 


tion  of  Margaret  Bourgeois  and  Jeanne  JMancc.  Margaret  Bourgeois,  whose 
kind,  womanly  face  bespoke  her  fitness  for  the  task,  was  foundress  of  the 
school  for  female  children  at  ^Montreal;  her  companion,  a  tall,  austere  figure, 
worn  with  suffering  and  care,  was  directress  of  the  hospital.  Both  had 
returned  to  France  for  aid,  and  were  now  on  their  way  back,  each  with  three 
recruits — three  being  the  mystic  number,  as  a  type  of  the  Holy  Family,  to 
whose  worship  they  were  especially  devoted." 

Mother  Bourgeois  and  her  gentle  companions  reached  Montreal  safely. 
It  was  just  exactly  a  year  since  her  departure.  Thus  was  her  promise  ful- 
filled. Before  setting  out  for  France  she  had  promised  that  she  would  return 
to  Ville-Marie  on  the  very  day  of  the  month  and  hour  of  the  day  on  which 
she  departed,  a  year  from  the  date  of  departure. 

At  this  period,  it  must  be  remembered,  a  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  was 
both  tedious  and  perilous — in  fact  the  event  of  a  life-time. 

As  Governor  De  Maisonneuve  was  a  devoted  Catholic,  and  a  "knight 
without  fear  and  without  reproach,"  he  was  most  anxious  to  show  his  deep 
respect  for  the  religious  ladies  who  honored  Ville-Marie  with  their  presence, 
and  blessed  it  by  their  labors.  But  good  intentions  cannot  do  all  things.  The 
sisters  needed  a  house  and  the  governor  had  none  to  give  them.  Buildings 
were  so  very  rare  that  he  was  even  compelled  to  offer  them  a  stable,  which 
was  gladly  accepted.  And  here  in  this  stable  was  formed  by  Margaret  Bour- 
geois the  first  religious  order  ever  founded  in  America — the  Congregation  de 
Notre  Dame.  "It  was  a  stonj:  buiUling,  this  stable,"  she  tells  us,  "about 
twenty-five  feet  square,  and  had  long  been  a  retreat  for  animals  of  every  sort. 
But  I  had  a  chimney  built,  and  got  it  cleaned;  so  that  we  could  lodge  there 
the  children  whom  the  Indians  gave  us,  as  well  as  hold  our  school.  As  for 
us,  there  was  a  sort  of  dove-cot,  or  garret,  above,  where,  until  now,  pigeons 
had  been  bred,  and  of  this  I  made  our  dormitory  and  community-room, 
although  it  was  rather  inconvenient  of  approach,  the  only  access  being  by  a 
ladder  outside."  The  young  lady  novices  immediately  began  their  labors, 
faithfully  following  in  the  footsteps  of  their  illustrious  guide  and  foundress.  It 
is  said  that  the  spirit  of  holy  poverty  which  reigned  throughout  this  small 
conuuunity,  led  the  gentle  inmates  to  fin<l  new  charms  in  their  most  humble 
abode. 

But  this  wretched  residence  really  crampccl  the  labors  of  the  sisters;  and, 
indeed,  prevented  their  fulfilling  th.e  end  of  their  vocation.  .\  change  was 
necessary.    A  more  commodious  dwelling  soon  began  to  rise,  and  was  nearly 


432  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

completed  when  Mother  Bourgeois  again  braved  the  terrors  of  the  Atlantic. 
With  a  soul  tilled  with  confidence  in  God,  she  landed  a  second  time  in  the 
country  of  her  fathers.  This  she  did  for  the  two-fold  purpose  of  obtaining 
letters  patent  from  Louis  XIV,  for  the  permanent  establishment  of  her  insti- 
tute, and  in  order  to  bring  over  more  ladies  to  assist  her.  Success  smiled  on 
her  efforts.  The  documents  which  she  so  justly  demanded  were  signed  and 
put  into  her  hands  without  almost  any  solicitation  on  her  part.  She  had  also 
the  happiness  of  receiving  several  young  ladies  into  her  community. 

These  fortunate  results  she  attributed  to  the  intercession  of  the  Most 
Blessed  Virgin,  whose  protection  the  heroic  lady  endeavored  to  insure  by 
erecting  a  chapel  in  her  honor  af  Montreal.  The  particulars  of  its  erection 
are  thus  given  by  the  foundress  herself: 

"  It  must  be  acknowledged,"  she  writes,  "that  God  in  His  mercy  has 
watched  over  our  little  community  in  a  most  admirable  manner.  On  my 
arrival  in  this  desolate  country  I  was  not  in  possession  of  a  doublon,  and 
notwithstanding,  I  undertook  to  raise  a  chapel  in  honor  of  the  ever  Blessed 
Virgin  Mother  of  God.  To  succeed  I  stimulated  the  inhabitants  to  collect 
the  stone  necessary  for  the  undertaking.  Their  labor  I  endeavored  to  repay 
by  my  needle.  Mr.  De  Maisonneuve  had  the  timber  prepared,  and  others 
supplied  the  lime,  sand,  and  boards.     In  fine,  I  found  sufficient  materials  to 

complete  the  building.    Just  as  the  foundations  w'ere  laid,  the  Abb6  de 

arrived  at  Quebec  from  France;  having  learned  my  proceeding  he  imme- 
diately  stopped  its  execution.  In  the  meantime  I  returned  to  France,  and  on 
arriving  in  Canada  I  had  the  misfortune  to  find  that  the  materials  ^vhich  I 
had  so  much  trouble  in  collecting  were  completely  scattered.  What  was  still 
more  embarrassing,  I  was  compelled,  in  consequence  of  the  number  of  nuns  I 
brought  out  from  France,  to  erect  a  house  a  hundred  feet  in  length.  This,  of 
course,  deferred  the  erection  of  the  chapel.  Before  I  completed  the  interior 
of  our  house  I  saw  myself  obliged  again  to  visit  the  Old  World  a  second 
time.  On  my  return  the  whole  community  felt  solicitous  for  the  completion 
of  the  chapel,  which  merely  consisted  of  the  timber-work  which  had  been 
put  up  before  my  last  voyage.  This  long-wished-for  building  was  finally 
completed  in  the  year  1677,  and  a  statue  of  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin,  by 
means  of  which  a  miracle  had  been  operated  in  favor  of  Mr.  De  Fancomp, 
was  solemnly  placed  therein." 

Mother  Bourgeois'  intention  in  erecting  this  house  of  prayer,  was  to 
impress  on  the  Canadian  mind  the  heavenly  beauty  and  grandeur  of  devotion 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA 


433 


to  the  Mother  of  God.  The  incessant  blessings  which  were  showered  upon  the 
infiijit  estahHshnient,  were,  no  doubt,  owing  to  the  powerful  protection  of 
Mary. 

The  bishop  of  Quebec  gave  full  liberty  to  the  sisters  to  extend  their 
schools  throughout  the  province.  They  labored  with  that  unremitting  zeal 
which  is  ever  rewarded  by  a  ten-fold  success.  And  so  great  was  the  number 
who  begged  admittance  into  the  community  of  the  congregation,  that  in  the 
space  of  ten  years  the  foundress  had  the  happiness  of  receiving  forty-seven 
members,  to  whom  she  promised  neither  wealth  nor  earthly  comfort.  The 
only  attraction  was  the  simplicity  and  poverty  of  the  Gospel. 

Since  we  have  now  come  to  that  periotl  at  which  this  establishment 
attained  its  formation,  we  shall  dwell  with  the  more  j^leasure  on  the  admi- 
rable inspirations  by  which  the  Holy  Spirit  directed  Mother  Bourgeois.  The 
two  principal  ends  she  proposed  to  her  children  were:  (i.)  Their  own 
sanctification;  (2.)  that  of  their  neighbor.  Both  these  ends  she  accomplished 
in  prescribing  the  three  vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience;  recom- 
mending, at  the  same  time,  frequent  prayer,  holy  meditation,  serious  exami- 
nation, spiritual  retirement. 

Mother  Bourgeois  proposing  the  Most  Blessed  \'irgin  as  the  model  of 
her  sisterhood,  particularly  wished  that  the  nuns  should  be  totally  devoted  to 
female  instruction,  and  consequently  gave  them  the  title  of  "  Siuurs  Secu- 
licres  de  la  Congr<5j^ation  de  N.  D.,"  because,  not  making  the  solemn  vows, 
they  are  not  cloistered  religious.  IIowcver,they  adopt  the  title  of  "  The  Con- 
gregation of  Our  Lady,"  considering  the  Queen  of  Apostles  as  their  head, 
their  model,  and  their  special  patron. 

Instruction,  in  wliieh  the  sisters  excel,  was  not  merely  conrmed  to  the 
citv,  but  extendeil  to  the  more  distant  Indian  child,  even  at  the  very  risk  of 
life.  Virtue  they  particularly  inculcated,  insinuating  at  the  same  lime  the 
practice  of  it,  to  which  was  added  the  training  of  the  youthful  mind  to  the 
love  and  pursuit  of  those  arts  and  sciences,  the  knowledge  of  which  may  be 
turned  to  a  useful  account  at  a  later  period. 

The  dress  of  the  sisters  was  extremely  plain,  consisting  of  a  black  habit, 
partly  open  in  front,  the  folds  formed  by  a  belt.  The  neckerchief  and  head- 
dress was  of  linen,  to  which  was  added  a  veil  and  a  small  silver  cross  worn 
on  the  bosom. 

To  finish  the  description  of  this  excellent  religious  institute,  wc  shall  say 
one  word  more  on  the  qualities  required  in  ortler  to  be  numbered  among  the 


434  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

happy  children  of  the  heroic  Margaret  Bourgeois.  These  qualities  may  be 
gathered  from  her  address  to  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin?  "  My  good  and  ten- 
der Mother,"  said  she, "  I  request  neither  wealth  nor  honors,  nor  the  pleas- 
ures afforded  by  worldly  friends,  for  this  community.  I  beseech  thee  to  obtain 
for  me,  that  God  may  be  faithfully  served  therein.  Permit  not  that  women 
who  are  of  a  proud,  imperious,  or  presumptuous  disposition  may  ever  find 
admittance,  nor  those  whose  hearts  are  engaged  in  worldly  pleasures, 
whose  language  is  either  slanderous  or  sarcastic,  and  who  do  not  endeavor 
to  study  and  reduce  to  practice  that  humility  which  Tliy  adorable  Son  has 
taught,  which  He  has  sealed  with  His  precious  blood,  and  which  Thou,  O 
Mother  of  God,  hast  practiced  so  faithfully!"  And  she  added:  "Let 
all  who  seek  to  be  admitted  into  the  congregation  be  firmly  resolved 
to  abandon  worldly  principles,  bad  habits,  and  evil  inclinations,  to  separate 
themselves  from  parents,  friends,  in  a  word,  from  all  that  might  uselessly 
engage  their  attention,  and  when  admitted  they  should  feel  apprehensive, 
lest  they  might  prove  unfaithful  to  God,  to  whom  they  have  consecrated 
themselves.  Perfect  submission,  po\erty,  and  interior  recollection  should  bt 
the  characteristics  of  every  member  of  this  institution." 

It  was  thus,  above  all  things,  she  sought  in  her  novices  that  religious  per- 
fection of  which  she  herself  was  a  shining  example.  Talents  and  intellect, 
though  of  secondary  consideration,  were  also  required  to  fulfill  the  duty  of  a 
sister  of  the  congregation.  But  neither  wealth  nor  fortune  ever  entered  into 
her  calculations.  What  she  seemed  most  to  fear  was,  that  any  endowed  with 
the  necessary  qualifications  should  be  refused  admittance  on  account  of  pecu- 
niary circumstances. 

She  used  to  say,  with  a  disinterested  enthusiasm:  "  I  would  willingly 
embrace  and  admit  a  novice  with  a  true  vocation,  even  if  her  pecuniary  cir- 
cumstances were  at  the  very  lowest  ebb."  It  was  from  this  principle  that 
she  entreated  the  bishop  of  Quebec  not  to  incorporate  her  congregation  with 
any  other  religious  or  cloistered  community,  adducing  as  reason,  that  a  for- 
tune being  necessary  in  those  asylums,  it  would  be  an  impediment  to  persons 
not  in  easy  circumstances  to  consecrate  themselves  to  God. 

Up  to  this  time  the  Congregation  de  Notre  Dame  had  no  fixed  rule. 
The  members  observed  what  Mother  Bourgeois  prescribed  by  way  of  trial. 
She  conversed  on  the  necessity  of  a  rule  with  the  bishop  of  Quebec.  To 
supply  this  deficiency  she  came  to  the  determination  of  crossing  for  the 
third    time  to  France,   there    to  seek    and    bring  back    the  essence  of  that 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IM  AMERICA  435 

admirable  rule  given  to  the  sisters  at  a  later  period  by  Bishop  St.  Valicr,  of 
Quebec. 

Shortly  after  her  arrival  in  Montreal,  a  fire  consumed  her  entire  convent 
in  the  dead  of  night.  So  sudden  and  so  dreadful  was  this  conflagration  that 
two  of  the  nuns  perished  in  the  flames.  The  death  of  these  two  inestimable 
members  made  a  most  melancholy  impression  on  the  sensitive  heart  of  the 
holy  foundress.  The  loss  of  the  building,  indeed,  compared  to  this  bereave- 
ment, seemed  of  no  consideration.  But  without  delay,  she  laid  the  foundation 
of  another  convent,  much  larger  and  more  convenient  than  the  former,  and 
that,  too,  with  no  more  assistance  than  the  scanty  means  furnished  by  the 
strict  economy  of  the  sisterhood. 

God,  who  delights  in  increasing  the  merits  of  His  beloved  children, 
sometimes  permits  that  trials  and  sufferings  should  put  their  patience  to  the 
test.  The  hour  has  now  struck,  which  had  been  marked  by  the  Divine  will, 
in  which  our  heroine's  susceptible  heart  was  also  to  be  tried  and  found  worthv. 
Interior  conflicts  of  the  most  distressing  nature  caused  her  to  feel  as  if  her 
God  had  entirely  rejected  her.  The  slightest  fault  was  magnified.  She 
reproached  herself,  that  selfish  egotism  was  the  motive  of  her  every  action. 
Such  frightful  illusions  cast  her  sad  soul  into  an  abyss  of  aflliction;  not  so 
much  from  tlic  apprehension  of  hell  and  all  its  dire  consequences,  as  the 
separation  from  that  God  she  so  tenderly  and  beautifully  loved.  Prayer, 
self-denial,  perfect  submission,  self-contempt,  all  were  ineffectually  emploved 
for  relief.  The  chalice  w.-is  yet  fraught  with  bitterness,  and  it  must  be 
exhausted  to  a  drop.  This  thorny  and  overclouded  path  she  trod  for  the 
space  of  four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  wiiich  Almighty  God  exhibited  His 
mercy  and  justice  and  love  by  restoring  peace  to  her  troubled  but  dauntless 
soul — a  peace  which  she  had  so  long  sought  in  vain. 

These  painful  temptations  having  vanishetl.  Mother  Bourgeois  resigned 
the  superiority,  and  even  declined  taking  pari  in  the  government  or  adminis- 
tration of  the  convent  for  the  last  seven  years  of  her  life.  This  time  she 
tlevoted  exclusively  to  the  practice  of  interior  virtues  known  onlv  to 
Heaven. 

The  virtues  of  Motiier  Bourgeois  were  of  the  most  heroic  cast.  In  her 
character  tiicre  was  a  iiarnvmy,  a  rouniled  beauty  that  excites  our  highest 
admiration.  Her  tender  affection  for  her  fellow-creatures  was  second  only 
to  her  boundless  love  of  God.  On  one  occasion  she  purchased  a  lot  of  ground 
at  Quebec  for  the  purpose  of    opening  a  school  in  that  city  ;  but  certain 


436  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OV  THE 

interested  individuals  contested  the  purchase.  Mothci  Bourgeois,  rather  than 
contend,  resigned  her  legal  rights,  stating  that  she  not  only  loved  her  neigh- 
bor, but  even  wished  to  preserve  her  neighbor  in  the  love  which  he  owed  to 
her.  Amply  was  she  repaid  for  this  Christian  disinterestedness.  As  she  was 
leaving  tlic  church,  in  which  she  had  confided  and  offered  to  Almighty  Go(' 
the  saciifice  of  her  hopes  and  disappointments,  an  unknown  perso\ 
approached,  and  haa  lei  her  a  sum  oqual  to  that  required  of  her  liy  thosR 
unjust  and  exacting  men! 

Her  disposal  of  the  bed  presented  to  her  before  her  departure  fron, 
France  by  M.  De  la  Bessonigre,  is  quite  characteristic.  The  first  winter  she 
passed  in  Canada  wa?  perhaps  the  most  rigorous.  During  that  fearfully  cokl 
season,  a  poor  soldier  came  to  complain  to  the  common  mother  of  all  the 
distressed  then  in  Montreal,  that  he  was  perishing  for  want  of  a  mattress 
wiiereon  to  repose  his  weary  limbs.  Margaret  Bourgeois'  tender  heart  was 
touched;  but  what  relief  could  she  afford?  She  gave  him  her  own  bed,  the 
only  one  she  had.  Shortly  after,  a  companion  of  the  unfortunate  soldier, 
having  learned  the  success  of  his  fellow-in-arms,  came  to  make  a  new  draft 
on  the  good  sister's  charity.  .She  gave  him  the  blankets.  No  application,  it 
appears,  was  made  for  the  pillow.  Thus  she  reduced  herself  to  the  extremity 
of  passing  nearly  the  whole  of  a  rigorous  Canadian  winter  on  the  bare 
ground;  and  her  sufferings  must  have  been  beyond  description. 

Knowing  well  the  immense  power  that  woman  wields  in  this  world. 
Mother  Bourgeois  considered  it  of  the  utmost  importance  to  promote  solid 
piety  among  her  sex.  For  marrieil  aiul  unmarried  females  she  instituted 
assemblies,  to  which  sermons  and  exhortations  were  addressed,  according  to 
their  respective  stations.  For  a  time  these  meetings  seemed  to  produce  slight 
results;  and  it  was  thought  advisable  to  discontinue  them.  But  she  would 
not  hear  of  it.  "  Should  no  greater  good,"  she  remarked,  "  be  derived  from 
them  than  that  one  sin  should  thereby  be  prevented,  she  would  deem  herself 
amply  rewarded  for  the  trouble  they  gave."  Even  just  before  her  death, 
this  saintly  woman  enjoined  on  her  sisterhood  never  to  consent  that  those 
assemblies  should  be  abolished.  Her  intentions  were  punctually  fulfilled. 
To  this  day  they  are  the  object  of  the  zeal  of  the  sisters  of  the  congregation. 
She  also  entreated  her  religious  to  give  spiritual  retreats  for  the  poor  scholars, 
and  imposed,  as  an  imperative  obligation,  that  the  members  of  her  community 
should  be  sent  to  form  schools  in  different  parts  of  Canada  for  the  instruction 
of  the  country  children. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  437 

In  1686,  Mother  Bourgeois  learned  that  the  hishop  of  Quebec  wished  to 
confer  with  her  on  the  suhject  of  a  house  which  he  intended  to  open  in  his 
episcopal  city  for  the  instruction  of  poor  children.  Immediately  she  set  out 
for  Quebec.  The  distance  was  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  and  the 
journey  was  made  on  foot,  in  the  midst  of  snow  and  ice.  But  her  painful 
voyage  was  the  least  part  of  the  work.  She  spent  four  days  of  Holy  Week 
in  the  laborious  undertaking  of  preparing  and  furnishing  the  new  house,  and 
passed  whole  nights  prostrate  before  tlie  Blessed  Sacrament,  praying  for  the 
success  of  her  mission.  To  her  all  labor  was  luxury,  and  suffering  a  blessing 
in  disguise,  provided  she  gained  souls  to  God. 

In  licr  humility  there  was  also  something  heroic  and  beautiful.  She 
often  said  she  believed  she  had  not  the  least  intellect,  and  desired  to  be  forgot- 
ten and  despised.  Yet  her  lofty  and  sensitive  nature  felt  humiliations  keenly. 
"  1  reiiuest  humiliations,"  she  would  say,  "  and  when  the  Almighty  permits 
that  I  am  so  favored,  I  keenly  feel  them.  I  fear  I  may  yet  fall  into 
some  serious  faults."  In  giving  the  habit  to  her  novices  she  was  wont  to 
repeat:  "  My  dear  sister,  be  always  humble  and  little  in  your  own  eyes." 

The  love  of  poverty  was  another  virtue  that  adorned  the  character  of 
this  noble  woman.  She  was  most  careful  that  the  sisters  should  be  trained 
to  tlie  practice  of  this  virtue.  "The  Blessed  Virgin,"  she  writes,  "whose 
children  we  are,  embraced  the  most  rigorous  poverty.  Our  Lord  chose  a 
stable  for  his  palace,  a  manger  for  a  cradle,  a  little  straw  for  a  bed  of  state. 
In  after  years  He  had  not  whereon  to  repose  His  adorable  head;  and  in  tlie 
painful  agony  of  death  a  cross  was  His  dying  pillow.  Blessed  are  the  poor 
in  sjiirit,  says  our  Lord  in  one  of  his  first  instructions.  It  will  avail  naught 
to  be  exteriorly  poor.  The  heart  must  be  detached  from  the  little  possessed, 
and  even  from  the  desire  of  acquiring,  and  be  satisfietl  with  what  the  com 
munity  affords,  even  in  sickness,  unless  necessity  recpiires  the  contrary'.  In 
the  missions,"  she  continues,  "the  sisters  should  live  in  the  same  state  of  pov- 
erty, seeking  not  their  own  comfort,  but  the  good  and  happiness  of  their 
neighbor." 

How  great  soever  was  the  poverty  she  so  wisely  prescribei!  to  her  sisters, 
the  apprehension  of  their  suffering  from  want  never  gave  her  the  least  con- 
cern, being  persuaded  tliat  "  He  who  |)rovides  for  the  birds  of  tiie  air"  will 
not  fail  to  provide  for  them!  Her  unlimited  conlulence  in  Divine  Providence 
was  frcc[uently  rewarded  by  extraoidinarv  succor  in  the  moment  of  need. 
During  a  famine,  the  sister  charged  with  the    bakery    saw    her    portion  of 


438  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Hour  reduced  to  such  a  point  that  she  deemed  it  useless  to  bake  for  the  com- 
munity. Mother  Bourgeois,  however,  told  her  not  to  defer.  The  obedient 
sister  immediately  complied,  and  found  the  flour  multiplying  in  her  handsi 
and  that  to  such  a  degree  that  she  had  as  many  loaves  as  five  times  the  quan- 
tity of  flour  could  have  produced! 

On  another  occasion  the  community  was  so  reduced  that  not  even  a 
mouthful  of  bread  could  be  afforded  for  supper.  The  humble  Mother  Bour- 
geois, whose  desire  was  to  do  good  in  secret,  sent  for  the  same  nun  who  had 
charge  of  the  bakery  and  told  her  to  go  to  the  chapel  and  beg  the  Most 
Blessed  Virgin  to  supply  the  deficiency.  No  sooner  was  the  prayer  offered 
than  the  bread  desired  was  sent  to  the  convent.  This  dear  and  holy  nii  ther 
used  to  go  where  the  wheat  was  deposited,  and  there  recite  the  Lord's  prayer, 
and  He  who  is  ever  attentive  to  the  supplications  of  His  beloved  children 
caused  the  quantity  of  the  little  store  visibly  to  increase.  Some  of  the  sisters 
were  so  struck  with  this  extraordinary  augmentation,  that  they  began  to 
measure  the  wheat,  but  Mother  Bourgeois,  being  informed  of  it,  put  a  stop 
to  their  laudable  curiosit)',  adding,  "  that  it  would  be  the  cause  of  a  privation, 
a  cessation  of  the  benefits  of  our  Heavenly  Father." 

Pecuniary  circumstances  not  permitting  the  sister  treasurer,  in  1690,  to 
purchase  even  a  bushel  of  wheat,  so  great  was  the  expense  compared  with 
the  means  of  the  community,  nevertheless,  sufficient  flour  was  found  for  the 
whole  community  for  the  space  of  four  months.  This  the  treasurer  very 
judiciously  attributed  to  the  prayers  of  Mother  Bourgeois,  who  never  failed 
to  visit  the  little  wheat  that  remained,  from  time  to  time,  offering  up  her  fer- 
vent prayers  for  itS  increase'.  A  person  highly  credible  who  lived  in  the  con- 
vent also  relates  that  wine  h.id  become  so  scarce  that  it  could  not  be  had  in 
Montreal.  The  sisters  of  the  congregation  supplied  the  sick  of  the  city,  as 
well  as  the  quantity  necessary  for  the  Masses  said  at  the  parish  church. 
What  is  here  particularly  remarkable  is,  when  the  ships  arrived  from 
France  with  wine,  tlie  barrel  which  had  so  freely  supplied  the  liquor  refused 
to  flow. 

The  same  person  asserts  that  the  sisters  were  once  on  the  point  of  entering 
the  dining-room  for  dinner,  when  Mother  Bourgeois  was  told  it  was  useless 
to  assemble  her  daughters  for  the  frugal  repast;  nevertheless,  she  had  the 
bell  rung  for  the  examination  of  conscience,  and  proceeded  as  customary  to 
the  refectory;  when  lo!  a  person  entered  with  all  that  is  required  for  dinner. 
It  is  thus  our  Heavenly  Father  realizes  the  word  of  His  Divine  Son:  "Seek 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  439 

first  the  Kii)gdom  of  God  and  His  justice,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
iinto  you." 

But  far  from  presuming  on  the  extraordinary  assistance  of  Providence, 
Mother  Bourgeois  rarely  requested  to  be  miraculously  favored.  Such  was 
the  austerity  of  her  life  that,  indeed,  very,  very  little  was  required  for  her 
subsistence;  and  even  th:it  little  was  seasoned  with  mixtures  ingeniously 
intr(xluccd  to  render  it  unpalatable.  One  meal,  with  a  little  soup  in  the 
evening,  was  her  daily  diet.  Iler  positions,  either  sitting  or  standing,  she 
rendered  painful,  through  a  spirit  of  mortification. 

So  completely  had  she  destroyed  the  sense  of  taste  by  an  uninterrupted 
application  to  render  food  disagreeable,  that  she  could  partake  of  the  best 
and  the  worst,  without  either  pleasure  or  disgust.  Her  bed  was  of  straw  and 
her  pillows  of  wood.  In  her  frequent  voyages,  the  cables  or  ropes  were  the 
bed  on  wliicii  she  reposed,  and  this  painful  repose  was  short  and  regularly 
interrupted  two  iiours  every  night  to  offer  her  pure  and  holy  meditations  to 
God.  The  severity  of  the  most  rigorous  season  she  never  alleviated  by 
appio.iching  a  fire.  And  to  all  tiiis  could  he  added  ilifferent  kinds  of  auster- 
ities not  easily  described. 

The  last  act  of  Mother  Bourgeois  was,  indeed,  a  fitting  termination  to 
the  heroic  and  beautiful  life  vviiicli  now  drew  to  its  close.  On  the  last  night 
of  the  year  1699,  Sister  St.  Angel  fell  dangerously  ill.  A  sudden  alarm  was 
spread  through  the  convent.  But,  holy  and  gentle  sisters,  despair  not  of  the 
life  of  your  dear  companion!  She  whose  life  was  one  continued  act  of 
charity  shall  shortly  end  it  by  a  supreme  act  of  that  sublime  virtue.  No 
sooner  was  the  venerable  foundress  informed  of  the  critical  condition  of  Sister 
St.  Angel,  than  she  exclaiined,  with  all  the  ardor  of  her  pious  and  lofty  soul: 
"O  my  God!  why  wilt  thou  not  accept  the  sacrifice  of  my  life,  rather  than 
deprive  the  community  of  that  dear  and  excellent  child?  " 

The  words  were  scarcely  uttered  when  tiie  dangerous  symptoms  of  the 
sick  sister  disappeared;  and  Mother  Bourgeois  was  siezed  with  a  mortal 
disease,  which  she  bore  for  the  space  of  twelve  days  with  that  grand  spirit 
of  self-ilenial,  resignation,  and  blessed  joy  which  ever  characterized  her  in 
her  sufferings.  The  sacraments  of  the  church  consoled  her  last  moments. 
.She  breathed  her  pure  soul  into  the  hands  of  God,  and  calmly  departed  this 
life,  cheered  by  the  bright  hope  of  those  who  having  instructed  many  unto 
justice  shall  shine  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  forever  and  forever.  And  thus 
passed  away  amid  the  scene  of  her  toils  and  sufferings  the  famous  and  saintly 


440  TRIALS  AXD  TRIVMniS  OF  THE 

fouiiilress  of  tlie  Congregation  of  Notre  Danie,  in  tiic  eiglitieth  }c:ii-  of  lur 
age,  on  the  12th  of  J;uui;iry,  1700. 

This  sweet  eulogy  of   iier  virtues  is  from  the  pen  of  Thomas  D'Arev 
McGee,  and  was  pubHshed  at  Montreal  in  1S65: 

"'Tis  pleasant  in  the  gay  greenwood  — so  all  the  poets  sing — 
To  breathe  the  very  breath  of  flowers,  and  hear  the  sweet  birds  sing; 
'Tis  pleasant  to  shut  out  tlie  world— behind  their  curtain  green, 
And  live  and  laugh,  and  muse  and  pray,  forgotten  and  unsetn; 
But  men  or  angels  seldom  saw  a  sight  to  heaven  more  dear, 
Than  Sister  Margaret  and  her  flock,  upon  our  hillside  here. 

"From  morn  till  eve,  a  hum  arose,  above  the  maple  trees, 
A  hum  of  harmony  and  praise  from  Sister  Margaret's  bees; 
Egyptian  hue  and  speech  uncouth  grew  fair  and  sweet,  when  won 
To  sing  the  song  of  Mary,  and  to  serve  her  Savior  Son! 
The  courier  halted  on  his  path,  the  sentry  on  his  round. 
And  barehead  blessed  the  holy  nun  who  made  it  holy  ground. 

"There  came  a  day  of  tempest,  where  all  was  peace  before — 
The  Huron  war  cry  rang  dismay  on  Hochelaga's  shore — 
Then  in  that  day  all  men  confessed,  with  all  man's  humbled  pride. 
How  brave  a  heart,  in  God's  good  time,  a  convent  serge  may  hide. 
The  savage  triumph'd  o'er  the  saint — a  tiger  in  the  fold — 
But  the  mountain  mission  stands  to-dav!  the  Huron's  tale  is  told! 


"Dear  mother  of  our  mountain  home!  loved  foundress  of  our  school- 
Pray  for  thy  children  that  they  keep  thy  every  sacred  rule, 
Beseech  thy  glorious  Patron — Our  Lady  full  of  grace- 
To  guide  and  guard  thy  sisterhood— and  her  who  fills  thy  place, 
Thv  other  self — to  whom  we  know  all  glad  obedience  given 
As  rendered  to  thyself,  will  be  repaid  ten-fold  in  heaven! 

"For  thee,  my  country!  many  are  the  gifts  God  gives  to  thee, 
And  glorious  is  thine  aspect,  from  sunset  to  the  sea, 
And  many  a  cross  is  in  thy  midst,  and  many  an  altar  fair; 
And  many  a  place  where  men  may  lay  the  burden  that  they  bear; 
Ah!  may  it  be  thy  crowning  gift,  the  last  as  'twas  the  first. 
To  see  thy  children  at  the  knee  of  Margaret  Bourgeois  nursed!" 


Cbapten   XXII. 


Canonized  Saints  of  Hmcnica. 


SANCTITY  IN  THE  New  World. —A  Sainted  Archbishop.  —  St.  Peter  Claver 
THE  Dominican.— Giving  Comfort  TO  THE  Slaves. —  Ministering  from  a 
Deathbed.— Martyrs  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.— The  Pious  Virgin  of  Lima. 
—A  Rose  of  Southern  Climes— The  Struggle  for  a  Vocation.— A  Saint 
OF  Suffering  and  Sweetness.  —  Miracles  that  Proved  Holiness  — An 
Incorrupt  Body. 

^HE  sanctity  of  the  Church  in  America  has  been  shown  by  the  holy 
lives  of  many,  whose  virtues  have  been  attested  by  their  canoniza- 
tion or  proceedings  for  it.  Among  these  stands  foremost  St. 
Turibius  Mogrobejo,  archbishop  of  Lima.  His  early  life  was 
marked  by  tender  piety,  and  as  he  grew  up  he  led  a  life  of 
austerity  and  fervor.  When  he  was  judge  at  Granada  he  was 
appointed  archbishop  of  Lima;  he  sought  to  escape  the  dignity,  but,  yield- 
ing to  an  express  order,  he  was  ordained  and  consecrated.  On  arriving  in  his 
diocese  he  began  a  visitation  which  occupied  several  years,  for  he  visited 
every  hamlet  as  an  apostle  instructing  the  ignorant,  introducing  devotion,  cor- 
recting abuses,  and  exciting  all  to  a  holy  life.  When  pestilence  came,  his  zeal 
was  unremitting.  He  held  several  synods  of  his  clergy,  and  convened  pro- 
vincial councils,  the  decrees  of  which  were  adopted  throughout  Spanish 
America.  His  life  was  one  of  prayer,  mortilication,  and  labor,  till  he  died  at 
Santa  in  1606  during  one  of  his  missionary  visitations.  Miracles  had  attested 
his  sanctity,  and  he  was  canonized  in  1736. 

St,  Francis  Solano,  after  a  holy  youth  in  Spain,  entered  the  Franciscan 
order,  and  in  his  zeal  asked  to  be  sent  to  America.     He  was  reganlcil  as  a 

441 


442  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

saint  wherever  lie  had  i)reached  and  labored.  He  entered  on  the  mission  in 
America  willi  all  his  zeal,  and  his  preaching  was  rewarded  by  wonderful 
conversions  throughout  the  country  from  the  River  La  Plata  to  Lima.  In 
that  city,  where  vice  was  prevalent,  he  announced  the  judgments  of  God  with 
such  force  that  thousands  returned  to  the  practice  of  virtue.  He  died  there 
in  IfilO,  and  was  canonized  in  ll'ZG.  St.  I'rancis  Solano  was  renowned  for 
most  extraordinary  miracles,  and  is  invoked  with  fervor  for  protection  against 
earthquakes. 

St.  Louis  Bertrand,  one  of  the  ornaments  of  the  Dominican  order, 
labored  for  several  years  on  the  coast  of  South  America,  from  Panama  to 
Venezuela,  converting  many  Indians  lo  the  Faith  and  reforming  many  lives 
of  the  Spaniards.  His  denunciation  of  vice  led  to  attempts  on  his  life,  from 
which  he  escaped  miraculously.     He  was  canonized  in  IGTl. 

Saint  Peter  Claver,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  labored  in  the  same  district, 
but  devoted  his  whole  life  to  the  comfort,  instruction  and  salvation  of  negro 
slaves,  whose  condition  on  the  ships  that  brought  them  from  Africa,  and  in 
America  was  most  wretched.  For  thirty  years  he  labored  for  these  afflicted 
people,  consoling  and  bringing  them  to  a  knowledge  of  God's  truth.  During 
that  time,  it  is  said,  he  had  the  happiness  of  baptizing  about  four  hundred 
thousand  negroes.  His  love  for  the  slaves  was  so  well  known  that,  upon  the 
arrival  of  a  slaveship,  the  pious  people  of  the  city  hastened  to  gratify  him  by 
bringing  him  the  news;  for  this  he  remembered  them  -n  his  prayers.  Pro- 
viding himself  with  cooling  drinks,  fruit,  biscuit,  and  other  delicacies,  the 
priest  hurried  to  the  unhappy  blacks.  Before  they  were  ready  to  leave  the 
ship.  Father  Claver  was  there  to  help  them;  he  provided  wagons  to  remove 
the  sick,  accompanied  others  to  their  new  homes,  and  begged  their  masters 
to  treat  them  kindly.  Flaving  gained  the  love  of  the  slaves,  Father  Claver 
instructed  them  in  the  truths  of  religion,  neither  discouraged  by  the  stupidilv 
of  some  nor  the  rough  ways  of  others.  Not  content  with  making  them 
Christians,  he  strove  to  make  them  good  Christians.  The  holy  Jesuit,  who 
had  learned  the  science  of  the  saints  from  the  Blessed  Alphonsus  Rodriguez, 
not  only  endured  with  cheerfulness  the  trials  he  encountered  amid  these  de- 
graded people,  but  adde<l  other  austerities,  which  should  fill  with  confusion 
those  who  seek  only  their  own  ease  and  comfort.  Even  during  his  last 
sickness,  which  kept  him  in  his  bed  for  four  years,  he  continued  to  hear  the 
confessions  of  liis  negroes  and  instruct  them.     He  died  September  8,  1654. 

The  Blessed  Ignatius  Azevedo.  and  his  thirty  nine  companions,  beatified, 


CATHOLIC  CUVRCH  IX  AMRRIC.1  443 

in  1S54,  were  holy  Jesuit  missionaries  on  their  way  to  Brazil  to  labor  in  con- 
verting the  Indians  to  the  Faith.  They  were  captured  by  a  Calvinist  pirate, 
who  threw  them  all  into  the  sea. 

St.  Philip  of  Jesus,  a  native  of  Mexico,  of  which  he  is  the  patron,  as  well 
as  several  others  wlio  iiave  been  canonized  or  beatified  as  martyrs  in  Japan, 
were  born  in  America,  or  labored  witii  zeal  here  in  the  missions. 

But  highest  of  all  on  this  holy  calendar,  place  must  be  given  to  the 
sweet  maiden,  canonized  as  the  first  American  saint,  who  is  known  to  the 
Church  as  St.  Rose  of  Lima;  nor  would  any  record  of  Catholicity  on  this 
continent  be  complete  without  an  account  of  her  beautiful  and  exemplary  life. 

Rose  Florez,  the  holy  and  renowned  virgin  in  question,  was  born  at 
Lima,  the  capital  of  Peru,  in  South  America,  on  the  20th  day  of  April,  in  the 
year  15S6.  Her  parents.  Gasper  Florez  and  Mary  Olivia,  were  persons  of 
virtue  and  high  birth. 

I  lor  aunt.  Lady  Isabella  of  Ilerrera,  being  chosen  as  her  godmother, 
gave  her  the  name  of  Isabella  in  baptism.  Three  months  after,  however,  as 
the  child  slept  in  her  cradle,  her  mother  and  several  other  persons  saw  a 
beautiful  rose  on  her  sweet  little  countenance.  From  that  time  they  called 
her  by  the  name  of  Rose. 

Rose's  godmother  thought  herself  slighted  by  this  change  of  name. 
So  much  offended  was  the  lady  that  she  lived  at  variance  with  the  child's 
mother  until  an  end  was  put  to  the  unhappy  dispute  by  the  action  of  the 
archbishop  of   Lima,  who  gave  her  the  name  of  Rose  in  confirmation. 

As  a  child  she  was  very  remarkable,  bore  many  severe  afilictions  with 
unflinching  heroism,  antl  was  exceedingly  neat  in  her  dress.  In  prayer  she 
was  most  fervent.  We  are  assured  that  she  received  from  God,  at  a  most 
tender  age,  an  inspiration  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  St.  Catharine  of 
Sienna,  by  a  perfect  imitation  of  the  virtues  of  th.nt  great  and  saintly  woman. 

To  Rose's  pure  heart  and  girlish  mind,  innocence  was  the  grand  and 
only  attraction.  S!ie  lowd  jjurit)',  because  it  is  "the  beautiful  and  while 
virtue  of  the  soul."  At  five  years  of  age,  we  are  told,  she  m.ade  a  vow  of 
virginity,  consecrating  her  whole  life  to  Heaven.  Thus  we  may  say  of 
Am'-M-ica's  first  saint, what  a  celebrated  doctor  of  the  Church  said  of  the  lovely 
St.  Agnes — that  her  piety  and  virtue  were  above  her  years,  and  far  bcyi)tul 
the  strength  of  nature. 

Her  obedience  was  in  the  highest  degree  heroic.  Her  mother— like 
many  others  who  love  their  children  more  for  this  world  than  for  heaven — 


444  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

often  begged  Rose  to  take  much  care  of  her  beauty,  and  even  desired  her  to 
use  paint  and  cosmetics.  But  the  pure,  simple  soul  of  our  saint  saw  the  folly 
of  such  advice.  She  knew  that  modesty,  virtue,  and  simplicity  in  dress  are 
the  highest  ornaments  sanctioned  by  religion  and  good  sense;  and  she 
earnestly  entreated  her  mother  not  to  oblige  her  to  obey  in  such  matters. 

On  one  occasion  the  mother  ordered  her  daughter  to  wear  a  garland  of 
flowers  on  her  head.  Rose  did  not  think  herself  strong  enough  to  effect  a 
change  in  this  command,  and  obeyed.  But  she  sanctified  her  submission  by 
the  painful  mortification  with  which  she  accomjsanied  it.  Our  Lord  having 
recalled  to  her  mind  the  remembrance  of  the  cruel  thorns  which  composed 
His  crown  in  His  passion,  she  took  the  garland,  and  fixed  it  on  her  head  with 
a  large  needle,  which  penetrated  so  deeply  that  at  night  the  maid  could 
scarcely  remove  the  garlanil.  Thus  she  contrived  to  elude,  without  resisting, 
the  orders  of  her  mother,  when  they  were  openly  opposed  to  the  high  virtue 
at  which  our  saint  aimed  ;  and  she  punished  herself  severely  when  she  obe^'ed 
her  in  anything  that  partook  of  the  vanity  of  the  world. 

It  may  be  said,  in  truth,  that  from  her  infancy,  Rose's  patience  in  suffer- 
ing and  her  love  of  mortification  were  extraordinary,  and  whilst  yet  a  child 
she  ate  no  fruit,  fasted  three  days  a  week,  allowing  herself  on  them  only 
bread  and  water,  and  on  other  days  taking  only  herbs  and  pulse.  When  she 
was  grown  up,  her  garden  was  planted  with  nothing  but  bitter  herbs,  inter- 
spersed with  figures  of  crosses. 

By  the  changes  of  worldly  fortune.  Gasper  Florez  fell  from  a  state  of 
opulence  into  great  distress.  The  pious  wife  of  the  Treasurer  Gonsalvo  took 
Rose  into  her  family;  and  the  young  saint,  by  working  there  all  day  in  the 
garden,  and  late  at  night  with  her  needle,  managed  to  relieve  and  comfort 
her  father  and  mother  in  their  necessities. 

She  was  a  perfect  mistress  of  needle-work,  either  in  designing  flowers, 
or  in  tracing  them  in  embroidery  or  tapestry.  So  much  beauty  and  delicacy 
had  her  work,  that  it  seemed  to  surpass  art  and  nature.  And  what  is  more 
surprising  is,  that  though  her  mind  was  often  elevated  to  God  during  her  hours 
of  toil,  yet  her  hand  guided  the  work  as  faultlessly  as  if  her  mind  was  solely 
intent  upon  it. 

Besides  needle-work,  she  cultivated  a  little  garden,  in  which  she  raised 
violets  and  other  flowers.  These  she  sold  to  help  her  parents  in  their  neces. 
sities;  and  as  all  her  industry  was  insufficient  to  save  them  from  poverty,  she 
confessed  to  a  holy  person  that  Jesus  Christ  himself  graciously  supplied  the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  445 

deficiency  by  secret  and  wonderful  means.  Her  parents  she  attended  in  sick- 
ness with  angelic  kindness  and  assiduity.  She  was  always  at  their  bedside, 
ready  by  day  and  by  night  to  perform  the  meanest  and  most  difficult  services. 

As  Rose  grew  up  to  womanhood,  her  extreme  beauty,  the  refinement  of 
her  mind,  her  delightful  conversation,  and  even  her  virtue  itself,  which  greatly 
enhanced  her  personal  attractions,  captivated  many  hearts.  To  her  this  was  a 
great  annoyance,  as  she  never  for  a  moment  forgot  her  vow  of  virginity. 
She  invented  all  sorts  of  means  to  disfigure  herself.  She  made  her  face  pale 
and  livid  with  fasting,  and  washed  her  hands  in  hot  lime  to  take  the  skin  off 
them.  She  sought  solitude,  shut  herself  up  closely  in  the  house,  went  out 
very  seldom,  and  then  only  when  it  was  quite  necessary.  Thus  several  years 
passed  away. 

But  notwithstanding  all  these  precautions,  the  good  young  lady  was  not 
able  to  prevent  several  persons  from  seeking  her  hand  in  marriage.  Among 
others,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  women  in  the  capital,  as  much  delighted 
with  her  virtue  as  her  beauty,  wished  her  to  become  the  bride  of  her  only 
son.  The  lad}'  openly  made  the  request  to  Rose's  parents,who,  having  eleven 
children  to  provide  for,  received  the  proposal  most  favorably,  thinking  the 
alliance  would  be  very  advantageous  to  themselves  and  their  family. 

Our  saint  was  the  only  person  to  whom  this  offer  was  disagreeable.  She 
blamed  herself  for  it.  She  saw  that  there  was  now  no  means  of  escape  but 
by  openly  declaring  her  firm  resolution  not  to  marry.  Her  parents  were  sur- 
prised, but  did  not  lose  hopes  of  inducing  her  to  comply  with  their  wishes. 
They  tried  caresses,  threats,  and  finally  blows;  but  it  was  all  in  vain. 

After  this  storm  blew  over,  Rose  sought  a  port  of  safety  in  the  Thiril 
Order  of  St.  Dominic.  She  solemnly  received  the  habit  at  the  hands  of  the 
Rev.  Father  N'elasquez  on  the  lotli  of  August,  1606,  being  twenty  years  of 
age.  This  state  of  life,  it  may  be  observed,  diil  not  prevent  the  saint  from 
continuing  to  assist  her  father  and  mother. 

It  is  said  that  he  who  knows  not  how  to  he  humble  knows  nothing. 
Humility  now-a-days  is  a  rare  virtue,  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  a  great  one.  This 
wise  young  lady  was  a  model  of  deep  humility.  All  iier  actions  proclaimed 
it.  At  confession,  the  abundance  of  her  tears  might  make  her  pass  in  the 
eyes  of  a  stranger  for  a  great  public  sinner.  Yet,  so  [lure  and  iiniocent  was 
the  life  she  led,  that  her  confessors  had  often  great  dillicidty  in  finding 
matter  for  absolution  in  tliose  things  of  which  she  accused  herself  with  so 
many  tears. 


446  iRlALS  A.\'D  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

•She  kept  so  strict  a  watch  over  herself,  tliat  she  was  never  heard  to 
speak  one  word  louder  than  aiiotlicr,  or  to  find  the  least  fault  with  the  actions 
or  conduct  of  others.  There  was  nothing  in  her  behavior  that  could  give 
annoyance  to  those  with  whom  charity  or  duty  obliijed  her  to  converse;  on 
the  contrary,  her  sweet  and  obliging  manners  made  her  so  agreeable  to 
everyone,  that  it  was  commonly  said  that  the  name  Rose  did  not  suit  licr, 
because  she  had  not  its  thorns. 

Her  charity  towards  mankind  was  so  universal  that  this  queen  of  virtues 
seemed  to  be  the  soul  which  animated  her  words,  actions,  and  entire  conduct. 
The  love  which  she  had  for  God  and  her  neighbor  filled  her  whole  heart, 
and  had  so  entirely  disengaged  it  from  earthly  things,  that  she  was  insensible 
to  the  pleasures  which  most  men  love  so  passionately.  Being  asked  one  day 
if,  in  the  midst  of  the  delights  and  consolations  which  Almighty  God  infused 
so  abundantly  into  her  soul,  she  did  not  feel  her  heart  attached  to  worldly 
things,  she  confessed  that  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  think  of  them,  or  to 
take  the  least  pleasure  in  them.  By  this  wonderful  detachment  from 
creatures,  she  attained  to  a  rare  purity  of  heart,  in  some  degree  similar  to 
that  which  the  angels  possess  by  the  privilege  of  their  nature. 

Her  spirit  of  penance,  the  mark  of  the  true  Christian,  was  not  less 
marvelous.  By  long  training  she  reached  an  astonishing  degree  of  abstinence. 
Often  for  the  space  of  twenty-four  hours  she  would  take  nothing  but  a  piece 
of  bread  and  a  little  water.  This  must  have  been  at  the  expense  of  great 
suffering,  for  the  extreme  heat  of  Peru  is  very  exhaustive  of  physical  strength. 

During  the  last  few  years  of  her  life.  Rose  accustomed  herself  to  fast  in 
the  following  manner:  She  observed  very  strictly  the  fast  of  her  order  from 
the  festival  of  the  Exaltation  of  the  Holy  Cross  until  Easter  Sunday.  From 
the  beginning  of  Lent  she  left  off  bread,  contenting  herself  with  a  few 
orange  pippins  every  day  of  the  forty  that  are  consecrated  to  penance.  On 
Fridays  she  took  only  five.  .She  ate  so  little  during  the  rest  of  the  year,  that 
what  she  took  in  eight  days  was  scarcely  sufficient  nourishment  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  Indeed,  she  was  known  to  make  a  moderate  sized  loaf  and  a 
pitcher  of  water  last  fifty  days.  But  what  seems  miraculous  in  her  austerities, 
is  that  the  saint  derived  more  strength  from  her  fasts  than  from  the  food 
which  she  took. 

Rose  likewise  daily  chastised  her  body  with  instruments  of  penance,  so 
much  so,  that  her  confessors  were  obliged  to  restrict  her  in  the  use  of  them. 
After  she  became  a  nun,  she  was  not  content  with  a  common  sort  of  discipline. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  447 

She  made  one  for  herself,  composed  of  two  iron  chains,  and  used  it  daily 
with  merciless  severity.  She  disciplined  herself,  first,  for  her  own  sins; 
secondly,  for  all  souls  engaged  in  sin;  thirdly,  for  the  pressing  necessities  of 
the  Church;  fourthly,  for  I>ima  or  Peru,  when  threatened  with  any  great 
misfortune;  fifthly,  for  the  souls  in  purgatory;  sixthly,  for  those  in  their  last 
agony;  and,  seventhly,  in  reparation  to  the  outrages  offered  to  Almighty  God. 

The  bed  Rose  used — and  which  she  constructed  herself — was  in  the  form 
of  a  rough  wooden  box.  Into  it  she  put  a  quantity  of  small  stones  of 
different  sizes,  that  her  body  might  suffer  more  and  more,  and  might  not 
enjoy  the  repose  which  a  smoother  would  have  afforded.  Nor  did  this  seem 
hard  enough.  She  afterwards  added  pieces  of  wood  and  broken  tiles;  and 
such  was  the  luxurious  bed  on  which  this  young,  delicate,  and  beautiful  girl 
took  the  rest  necessary  to  recruit  her  exhausted  strength  for  the  space  of 
fifteen  years! 

When  some  good  persons,  through  charity,  entreated  the  saint  to 
moderate  her  austerities,  she  answered:  "  -Vs  I  cannot  do  any  good,  is  it  not 
just  that  I  should  suffer  whatever  I  am  capable  of  suffering?" 

Rose's  body  being  so  obedient  to  the  laws  of  her  mind,  and  her  mind  so 
perfectly  submissive  to  the  will  of  God,  it  is  not  surprising  to  learn  that  even 
irrational  creatures  respected  iier  virtue.  The  dampness  of  the  earth,  and 
the  foliage  of  the  trees  which  surrounded  her  little  hermitage,  drew  thither  a 
countless  multitude  of  mosquitoes.  It  is  well  known  how  these  small, 
malicious  busybodies  love  the  shade,  and  take  such  a  queer  delight  in  cease- 
lessly annoying  all  that  are  within  their  reach.  But  there  was  one  whom 
they  touched  not.  It  was  Rose.  Not  one  of  the  legion  of  mosquitoes  that 
covered  the  walls,  windows,  and  doors  of  her  garden  cell  presumed  to  annoy 
her.  On  the  contrary,  they  showed  so  much  respect  for  the  purity  and 
sanctit'y  of  her  person  that  they  seemed  to  honor  in  her  the  sovereign  power 
of  the  good  God  who  had  created  them.  To  the  saint's  mother,  however, 
and  other  persons  who  came  to  visit  her,  the  mosquitoes  exhibited  no  such 
marked  deference.  They  attacked  all  comers  with  that  vigor  and  venom  for 
which  they  are  so  renowned  even  to  this  day  in  the  backwoods  of  America. 

In  the  last  year  of  her  life  a  bird,  whose  melody  was  most  charming, 
placed  itself  opposite  her  room  during  the  whole  season  of  Lent.  As  soon  as 
the  sun  began  to  sink  in  the  west.  Rose  ordered  the  little  warbler  to  employ 
its  notes  in  praising  God.  The  bird  obeyed,  and,  raising  its  tiny  voice,  it  sang 
vigorously,  until  the   saint,  unwilling  to  be  outdone   in   offering  canticles  of 


448  TRIALS  AXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

praise  and  benediction  to  God,  1)cjjan  most  sweetly  to  sing  hymns  to  His 
glory.  When  she  had  finished,  the-  little  songster  of  the  grove  commenced 
again,  and  thus  together  the  saint  and  tlic  bird  composed  a  choir,  in  which 
they  sang  alternately  for  an  hour  the  praises  of  the  Almighty.  At  six  o'clock 
she  dismissed  hei'  little  feathertd  companion  till  next  day,  and  so  punctual 
was  it,  that  never  did  it  fail  to  appear  at  the  time  fixed. 

The  path  that  leads  to  saintliness  is,  it  is  true,  a  straight  and  narrow  one ; 
but  it  has  its  pure  joys,  and  peace,  and  beauties,  and  consolations.  Many  were 
the  extraordinary  graces  which  God  bestowed  upon  this  holy  American  lady; 
and  Christ  once,  in  a  vision,  called  her  soul  His  spouse. 

"The  more  a  man  is  united  within  himself,  and  interiorly  simple,"  writes 
the  author  of  "The  Imitation  of  Christ,"  "the  more  and  higher  things  does 
he  understand  without  labor,  for  he  receives  the  light  of  understanding  from 
above.  A  pure,  simple,  and  steady  spirit  is  not  dissipated  by  a  multitude  of 
affairs,  because  he  performs  them  all  to  the  honor  of  God,  and  endeavors  to 
be  at  rest  within  himself,  and  free  from  all  seeking  of  himself." 

It  was  thus  with  Rose  of  Lima.  The  supernatural  lights  with  which 
God  enriched  her  understanding,  inflamed  her  heart  with  so  ardent  a  love  for 
prayer,  that  even  sleep  itself  could  not  distract  her  from  it.  So  completely 
absorbed  was  her  imagination  in  this  holy  exercise,  that  she  was  often  heard  to 
repeat,  while  asleep,  the  same  number  of  vocal  prayers  as  she  had  said  during 
the  day. 

She  meditated  every  day  for  three  hours  on  the  benefits  of  God,  and  the 
countless  graces  she  had  received  from  His  mercy.  Her  vocal  prayer  was 
continual.  Indeed,  it  is  beyond  the  power  of  our  imagination  to  conceive 
how,  though  the  presence  of  God  entirely  engrossed  all  the  interior  powers 
of  her  soul,  she  still  acted  in  exterior  things  with  great  presence  of  mind,  giv- 
ing the  proper  answers  to  questions,  and  carefully  finishing  any  work  she 
commenced.  When  in  church  she  kept  her  eyes  fixed  on  the  altar,  and 
never  looked  at  anything  else.  Thus,  according  to  the  advice  of  the  Holy 
Book,  she  kept  God  in  her  mind  all  the  days  of  her  life. 

The  Almighty  rewarded  this  purity  and  simplicity  of  mind  by  giving 
her  a  deep  insight  into  the  most  profound  mysteries  of  religion.  Some 
learned  theologians  hearing  of  this  had  the  curiosity  to  converse  with  her  on 
such  sublime  subjects  as  the  Blessed  Trinity,  the  Incarnation,  grace,  and  pre- 
destination ;  and  after  a  long  conference,  they  confessed  that  they  had  never 
known   a   more  enlightened  soul,  and  that  the  saint  had   not   acquired   the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  44Q 

knowledge  of  these  elevated  tiiithb  of  faitli  by  the  vivacity  of  her  mind, or  hy 
application  to  study. 

But  there  is  another  feature  in  her  career  to  which  we  must  devote  a  few 
words.  As  thorns  spring  forth  with  roses,  so  grief  and  pain  seem  to  have 
been  born  with  the  blessed  Rose.  Her  life  was  one  long  chain  of  sufferings, 
sickness,  pains,  and  crosses,  which  exercised  her  patience  from  the  cradle  to 
tlie  tomb  by  a  tedious  martyrdom. 

The  sweet  disposition  and  religious  spirit  of  the  saint  were  often  severely 
tried  by  the  passionate  temper  of  her  mother,  who  found  fault  with  everv- 
thing  her  daughter  did.  She  condemned  her  reserve,  blamed  her  fasts,  dis- 
liked her  taking  up  so  much  time  in  prayer  and  retirement  so  opposed  to  the 
maxims  of  the  world;  and  for  these  reasons  she  often  scolded  Rose,  and  went 
so  far  as  to  use  a  thousand  abusive  epithets,  as  if  she  had  been  an  infamous 
person.  At  the  least  provocation  she  gave  her  blows  on  the  cheek,  but  when 
she  was  carried  away  by  the  fury  of  anger,  she  put  no  bounds  to  her 
malicious  abuse.  She  even  assailed  her  daughter  with  blows  and  kicks;  and 
on  one  occasion  she  took  a  thick  knotty  stick  and  struck  her  with  all  her 
strength.  She  began  to  treat  Rose  thus  when  she  cut  off  her  hair,  after 
having  consecrated  her  virginity  to  God,  and  she  continued  the  same  treat- 
ment on  many  other  occasions. 

Those  with  wliDm  the  holy  heroine  lived,  were  also  actuated  towards 
her  by  the  vilest  feelings  of  envv  and  vexation,  and  all  because  they  saw  her 
lead  a  life  so  different  from  theirs.  To  disoblige  and  annoy  her,  they  did 
everything  in  their  power.  They  even  threatened  to  report  her  to  the 
Inquisition,  as  a  deluded  girl  and  a  hypocrite,  who  was  deceiving  the  world 
by  a  false  appearance  of  virtue! 

Sickness  came  upon  her  in  all  sorts  of  shapes.  She  was  three  years  in 
bed  a  paralytic,  suffering  great  torture  without  shetlding  a  tear  or  making 
the  least  complaint.  These  diseases  arose  from  iliffcrent  causes,  which  all 
united  in  iur  body  to  give  her  an  increase  of  torture.  Even  the  physicians 
were  surprised  to  see  her  suffer  so  long,  sometimes  from  tertian,  sometimes 
from  quartan  fevers,  which  made  her  burn  with  heat  and  then  shiver  with 
cold;  for  so  dried  up  and  attenuated  was  her  body  that  there  seemed  to  be 
scarcely  anything  remaining  to  nourish  fever. 

On  her  part,  tliis  heroic  woman  adored  the  hand  of  Goil  in  her  infirm- 
ities, acknowledging  that  they  ditl  not  proceed  in  her  from  any  derange- 
ment  of  the  system,  as  is  the  case  with  others,  but  from  the  particular  dispen- 


450 


TRIALS  AND  TRlUMrilS  01-  THE 


sation  of  Clirisl,  who  scut  them  to  exercise  her  patience,  and  to  furnish  her 
with  opportunities  of  grace  and  merit.  She  was  a  daughter  of  aflliction. 
But  in  the  midst  of  her  pains  and  sorrows,  she  would  look  at  lier  crucifix,  and 
exclaim:  "Oh  Jesus,  increase  my  sufferings,  hut  increase  also  Thy  divine 
love  in   my  soul!  " 

Her  charity  was  boundless.  One  day  when  she  had  nothing  to  give  a 
poor  woman,  who  begged  her  for  the  love  of  God  to  give  her  some  old 
clothes  to  cover  her  poor  little  half-naked  children,  Rose  took  a  large  cloak 
belonging  to  her  mother,  and  without  any  permission  beyond  that  which  she 
interiorly  received  from  God,  who  inspired  her  to  perform  this  ai  tioii,  she 
bestowed  it  upon  the  unhappy  mendicant.  Her  mother  was  displeased  with 
this  sort  of  liberalit)';  hut  the  saint  humbly  entreated  her  not  to  be  uneasy; 
and  assured  her  that  Almighty  God  would  make  her  a  return  far  beyond  the 
cost  of  her  cloak.  Nor  was  she  deceived  in  her  expectations.  During  the 
same  day  a  stranger  came  in  and  gave  her  fifty  pieces  of  money.  Three  days 
after,  a  lady  sent  her  by  a  servant  a  piece  of  cloth  large  enough  to  make 
another  cloak;  and  the  Dominicans  added  to  this  by  sending  her  another  fine 
piece  of  cloth. 

Rose  made  herself  the  attendant  and  inflrmarian  of  the  poor.  She  took 
home  with  her  Jane  de  Bovadilla,  a  young  orphan  lady  who,  besides  her 
great  poverty,  had  a  cancer  in  her  breast  of  which  no  one  could  bear  the 
insupportable  odor.  God  revealed  her  condition  to  the  saint.  She  went 
immediately  to  see  the  unfortunate  girl,  offered  to  wait  upon  her,  and  that 
she  might  be  able  to  do  it  she  persuaded  her  to  come  to  her  father's  house, 
where  she  could  render  her  every  kind  of  assistance.  .Still,  as  the  saint  knew 
that  her  mother  was  a  little  too  much  attached  to  her  own  interests,  she  told 
her  patient  that  she  would  hire  a  room  in  the  house,  and  that  she  would  give 
her  the  money  to  pay  for  herself,  only  requiring  that  the  young  lady  should 
keep  this  a  secret.  Rose  hired  the  room,  brought  Miss  de  Bovadilla  to  it, 
chwritably  waited  upon  her,  and  worked  more  than  usual  to  obtain  the  money 
necessary  for  the  payment  of  the  lodging,  which  the  young  lady  did  not  quit 
till  she  was  perfectly  recovered. 

A  little  while  after,  her  mother  became  acquainted  with  the  foregoinj,^ 
case,  and  gave  her  leave  to  bring  home  sick  persons.  On  receiving  this  per- 
mission Rose  exercised  her  charity  towards  the  poor  women  and  girls  whom 
she  met  in  the  streets,  whatever  might  be  their  condition.  Nor  was  she  sat- 
isfied with  merely  giving   them   a  lodging.     She   nursed  them,   made    their 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  4^1 

beds,  dressed  their  ulcers,  washed  their  clothes,  and,  in  short,  rendered  them 
every  sort  of  service,  making  no  distinction  between  the  Spaniard  and  the 
hulian,  the  free  and  the  slave,  the  European  or  the  African  negro. 

We  arc  told  in  the  Holy  ]}ook  that  the  shadow  of  St.  Peter  restored  the 
sick  to  health.  The  mere  sight  of  our  saint  often  effected  a  cure.  On  one 
occasion  Don  John  d'Almansa,  a  gentleman  of  high  rank,  being  dangerously 
ill  desired  very  much  to  speak  to  Rose  once  before  he  died.  She  went  to  see 
him  to  afford  him  this  satisfaction.  When  the  saintly  lady  entered  his  room 
he  remarked  quite  a  heavenly  beaulv  on  her  pure  countenance,  from  which 
he  conceived  a  firm  hope  that  she  would  obtain  his  cure  from  Almighty  God, 
who  alone  could  raise  him  from  the  sad  state  to  which  he  was  reduced. 
While  she  was  speaking  to  him  he  fell  asleep  with  this  consoling  thought  in 
his  mind,  and  awoke  as  perfectly  recovered  as  if  he  had  never  been  ill. 

Like  her  chari'y,  our  saint's  childlike  confidence  in  God  was  wonderful. 

One  dav,  seeing  that  there  was  no  money  in  the  house  to  buy  provisions, 
or  a  bit  of  bread  to  eat,  she  went  to  open  the  chest  in  the  assurance  that  the 
.■\lmiL;lit\-,  who  never  abandons  tiiose  who  trust  in  him,  would  provide  for 
those  so  dear  to  her.  She  was  not  deceived.  She  found  the  bread-chest  full 
of  loaves,  whiter  and  of  a  different  shape  from  the  ones  they  were  accustomed 
to  eat. 

On  another  occasion,  the  supply  of  honey — which  is  much  used  in  Peru 
— having  failed,  and  her  brothers  having  brought  word  that  there  was  not  a 
single  drop  remaining.  Rose,  full  of  confidence  in  God,  went  to  the  place  and 
found  the  vessel  quite  full  of  excellent  honey.  It  lasted  the  family  eight 
months. 

When  her  father,  Gasper  Florez,  was  sick  and  weighed  down  with  sor- 
row at  not  being  able  to  pay  the  sum  of  fifty  livres  which  he  owed,  and 
which  he  was  pressed  to  return,  Rose  was  informed  of  the  affair.  She  went 
to  the  church  and  begged  of  Christ  to  assist  him  on  the  occasion,  and  not  to 
allow  her  parent  to  be  jiut  to  confusion.  As  she  returned  she  saw  a  stranger 
enter  the  house.  He  gave  her  father  a  little  purse  which  contained  precisely 
the  sum  wanted  to  satisfy  his  creditor.  On  many  other  occasions,  in  the 
great  necessities  to  which  her  family  was  often  reduced,  God  favored  its 
members  by  miraculous  means,  to  reward  the  saint's  admirable  confidence  in 
His  almighty  power  ami  goodness. 

Rose  learned  by  revelation  that  she  would  die  on  the  festival  of  ."^t.  IJar- 
tholomew,  and  when  she  reached  her  thirty-lirst  year — which  she  knew  she 


452  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  01-  THE 

woukl  not  live  to  complete — she  made  the  wife  of  Don  Gonzalez,  her  great 
benefactor  and  the  protector  of  her  family,  acquainted  with  the  day  and  place 
of  her  death.  She  was  in  perfect  health  when  she  communicated  this  sad 
intelligence. 

God  likewise  enlightened  our  saint  as  to  the  extreme  suffering  she  was 
to  endure  at  the  close  of  her  holy  and  humble  life.  He  showed  her  their 
number,  and  revealed  to  her  that  her  pains  would  be  so  violent  that  each 
member  of  her  body  would  have  its  own  particular  torment.  She  was  told 
that  she  woukl  have  to  suffer  the  same  thirst  which  tormented  our  Blessed 
Redeemer  on  the  cross,  and  also  a  burning  heat  which  would  dry  up  the  very 
marrow  in  her  hones.  But  the  heroine  trembled  not  at  the  thought  of  this 
woeful  species  of  martyrdom. 

On  the  night  of  the  ist  of  August,  Rose  retired  to  her  room  in  perfect 
health;  but  at  midnight  she  was  heard  piteously  crying  and  moaning.  The 
wife  of  Don  Gonzalez,  at  whose  house  she  lived,  hastened  to  the  saint's  room, 
and  found  her  extended  on  the  floor,  half-dead,  cold,  pulseless,  motionless,  and 
scarcely  breathing. 

Skilled  physicians  were  at  once  summoned  ;  and,  after  a  most  careful  diag- 
nosis they  all  declared  that  her  infirmities  and  sufferings  were  beyond  human 
endurance, and  thatsuch  a  union  of  incompatible  symptoms  was  something  truly 
miraculous.  They  were  of  opinion,  in  short,  that  her  illness  was  not  natural, 
but  that  the  hand  of  God  had  sent  the  torments  which  thus  afflicted  His  ser- 
vant. As  for  Rose  herself,  in  the  midst  of  her  agonies  of  pain,  she  exhibited 
the  greatest  peace  of  mind,  and  continually  thanked  all  who  attended  her  for 
their  kindness  and  devotion. 

At  length  her  last  hour  arrived.  It  was  towards  midnight,  and  a  mys- 
terious noise  warned  her  that  the  angel  of  death  had  come.  She  received  the 
announcement  with  jov.  Just  before  expiring,  she  requested  her  brother  to 
remove  the  bolster  from  beneath  her  head,  and  to  place  some  pieces  of  wood 
in  its  stead.  He  complied,  and  she  thanked  him  for  this  last  act  of  kindness. 
She  placed  her  head  upon  the  pieces  of  wood  to  die,  as  it  were,  upon  a  sort 
of  cross,  and  said  twice,  "Jesus  be  with  me!"  and  thus  passed  away  to  its 
heavenly  home  the  pure  and  beautiful  soul  of  America's  first  saint.  Rose  of 
Lima.  Her  precious  death  took  place  on  the  24th  of  August,  the  feast  of 
St.  Bartholomew,  in  the  year  1617. 

So  lovely  did  death  itself  appear  upon  her  countenance,  that  those  who 
remarked  the  freshness  of  her  complexion  and  the  redness  of  her  lips,  which 


CATJIOUC  CULKCII  l.W  AMERICA  453 

were  separated  so  as  to  form  a  pleasing  smile,  doubted  for  a  long  time 
whether  her  soul  had  really  quitted  the  body.  They  beheld  so  much  bright- 
ness in  her  eyes,  and  such  apparent  marks  of  life,  that  they  could  not  be  sat- 
isfied till  they  had  placed  a  mirror  before  her  mouth,  and  perceived  that  she 
did  not  in  the  least  tarnish  it  with  her  breath.  Then  they  knew  that  their 
holy  friend  had  forever  bade  adieu  to  the  scenes  of  this  world. 

The  saints  die  only  to  live.  Their  true  glory  is  beyond  the  tomb.  So 
it  was  with  the  holy  daughter  of  Peru.  The  fame  of  her  sanctity  was 
so  great  that  in  May,  1630,  an  Apostolic  Brief  was  received  at  Lima,  by 
which  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites  established  a  tribunal  for  the  pur- 
pose of  examining  canouically  into  the  life,  actions,  and  miracles  of  Sister 
Rose  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  Two  years  were  employcil  in 
hearing,  juridically ,one  hundred  and  eighty  persons  who  presented  themselves, 
and  deposed  on  their  solemn  oath  what  they  had  seen. 

Nothing  more  remained  to  terminate  the  proceedings  but  to  visit  the 
relics  of  the  servant  of  God.  It  was  fifteen  years  after  he'-  death.  The 
members  of  the  examining  tribunal  went  to  her  tomb,  and  having  opened  it 
they  found  her  bones  entire,  covered  with  dry  fiesh,  which  exhaled  a  delight- 
ful odor  like  that  of  roses. 

A  physician  well  known  for  his  virtue.  Dr.  Juan  de  Castile,  swore  before 
the  examining  commissioners  that  Rose  had  appeared  to  him  several  times, 
fifteen  years  after  her  death,  environed  with  an  extraordinary  light,  and  that 
he  saw  her  in  the  midst  of  this  light,  clothed  in  her  religious  habit,  but  so 
glorious  and  m.ijestic  that  he  could  find  no  words  to  depict  her  splendor.  In 
her  right  hand  she  held  a  lily,  the  emblem  of  her  virgin  purity ;  anti  she 
spoke  of  the  happiness  of  the  saints  in  so  sublime  a  manner  that  he  would 
try  in  vain  to  express  their  glory. 

In  the  last  examination,  m.ade  at  Lima  in  1631,  Dr.  Juan  de  Castile 
deposed  on  oath  that  for  six  months,  whenever  he  made  his  meditation,  either 
by  day  or  night,  he  had  been  permitted  to  see  the  more  than  my.il  magnifi- 
cence with  which  Almighty  God  rewarded  the  merits  of  St.  Rose.  This  he 
saw  by  means  of  an  angel  whom  she  sent  from  heaven  to  invite  him  to  wit- 
ness such  a  celestial  spectacle. 

She  appeared  likewise  to  a  pious  widow  that  lived  in  Lima.  One  day 
when  this  good  lady  was  enraptured  to  see  the  saint  amid  a  multitude  of 
the  blessed.  Rose  said  to  her:  "  Mother,  this  state  of  glory  is  only  acquired 
by  generous  efforts.     Much  labor   is   necessary.     Rut   the   recompense  with 


454  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

which  God  crowns  our  trials  is  exceedingly  great.  You  see  how  His  mercy 
rewards  abundantly,  and  even  beyond  my  hopes,  the  pains  I  suffered,  and  the 
few  good  actions  I  performed  while  on  earth." 

During  life  the  saint  often  exhibited  her  love  for  her  native  city  and  its 
inhabitants;  and  it  seems  that  she  testified  the  same  interest  for  them  in 
heaven.  The  pious  lady  already  mentioned  was  one  day  praying  for  Lima. 
Rose  appeared  to  her  and  said:  "  Mother,  I  will  do  what  you  request.  God 
has  promised  to  grant  me  for  these  dear  people  whatever  concerns  their  sal- 
vation. Those  things  which  have  been  recommended  to  my  intercession  I 
remember  well,  and  I  shall  not  fail  to  ask  for  them." 

The  miracles  wrought  by  the  saint  after  death  cannot  be  here  recounted. 
According  to  her  biographer,  the  number  was  so  great  that  a  volume  might  be 
filled  on  this  subject  alone.     We  merely  notice  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable. 

When  her  body  was  exposed  before  burial,  it  was  observed  that  some 
young  libertines  who  came  to  the  church  merely  to  gaze  on  the  pure  beauty 
of  "  Lima's  holy  child,"  whom  they  had  not  been  able  to  look  upon  atten- 
tively during  life,  returned  home  penetrated  with  great  contrition,  and  resolved 
to  change  their  sinful  ways. 

Magdalen  de  Torrez  was  the  daughter  of  a  poor  laborer,  who  dwelt  in 
the  outskirts  of  Lima.  She  was  seized  with  a  violent  fever,  and  died.  Every- 
tiiing  was  ready  for  the  girl's  burial,  when  her  mother,  placing  her  confi- 
dence in  God  and  St.  Rose's  protection,  laid  on  the  mouth  of  her  dead  daugh- 
ter a  piece  of  a  garment  which  had  belonged  to  our  saint.  Wonderful  to 
relate,  this  girl,  who  was  quite  cold,  and  whose  bodv  was  stiff,  opened  her 
eyes,  and  in  the  presence  of  her  father,  and  several  others  who  were  in  the 
room,  arose  from  the  mattress  in  as  perfect  health  and  strength  as  if  she  had 
never  been  unwell.     This  happened  in  October,  1627. 

In  the  year  1631,  Anthony  Bran,  the  servant  of  a  pious  lady,  died  of  a 
complication  of  diseases.  His  mfstress  was  much  afflicted.  On  visiting  the 
room  of  the  departed,  she  saw  a  paper  picture  of  St.  Rose  on  the  pillow  of 
the  bed.  The  lady  immediately  entreated  the  saint's  protection  in  her  sor- 
row, and  earnestly  besought  her  to  obtain  from  God  the  life  of  this  good 
servant.  She  placed  the  picture  on  the  corpse,  and  prayed  again  with  others 
who  were  in  the  room.  Anthony  came  to  life,  rose  up  in  a  sitting  position, 
and  proclaimed  in  a  loud  voice  the  marvelous  favor  he  had  received  through 
the  intercession  of  St.  Rose.  The  same  day  he  went  to  her  tomb  to  return 
thanks  to  God  and  his  kind  benefactress. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


455 


During  the  time  that  the  remains  of  the  saint  were  lying  in  church  before 
interment,  Elizabeth  Durand  \  isitcd  the  place.  She  wished  to  touch  the  holy 
body,  in  order  to  recover  the  use  of  her  arm,  which  the  surgeons  pronounced 
incurable.     She  returned  home  with  the  arm  perfectly  restored. 

The  miraculous  cure  of  Alphonsus  Diaz  is  not  less  authentic.  He  was  a 
poor  cripple,  well  known  to  hundreds,  and  begged  his  bread  from  door  to 
door  ill  Lima.  With  much  ditliculty  he  dragged  himself  along  on  little 
crutciies,  on  account  of  a  contraction  of  the  nerves,  which  had  some  years 
before  so  dried  up  and  siiortened  his  feet  that  he  could  no  longer  support 
himself  upon  them.  In  this  unhappy  condition  he  prayed  near  the  coffin  of 
St.  Rose,  and  earnestly  invoked  her  assistance  that  he  might  be  cured.  Sud- 
denly he  felt  his  feet  stretch  out.  lie  tried  his  weight  upon  them  to  see  if 
he  could  walk.  He  was  no  longer  a  cripple.  He  was  overjoyed  to  find  his 
feet  once  nnore  possessed  of  all  the  vigor  and  elasticity  of  youth! 

In  November,  1631,  an  orphan  babe,  ten  months  old,  named  Mary,  lived 
at  the  house  of  Jerome  de  Soto  Alvarado,  who  had  taken  her  through  ciiar- 
ity.  This  little  sufferer  was  afflicted  with  leprosy,  :uul  was  truly  a  horrible 
object.  The  servant  of  the  liouse,  seeing  that  the  physicians  despaired  of 
curing  the  child,  went  to  the  church  of  St.  Dominic  to  pick  up  a  number  of 
roses  which  had  been  placed  on  the  statue  of  our  saint.  She  took  them  home, 
and  without  mentioning  her  intention,  applied  them  to  all  the  marks  of  lep- 
rosy which  appeared  on  the  chilli's  body.  She  then  wrapped  her  unhappy 
little  charge  up  carefully,  carried  her  to  bed,  and  the  next  morning  found  her 
cured  of  the  leprosy.  In  ecstasies  of  joy  she  ran  to  acquaint  her  master. 
Alvarado  hastened  to  view  the  wonderful  cure,  and  so  astonished  was  he  that 
he  proceeiled  at  once  to  give  testimony  of  it  before  the  apostolic  commission- 
ers who  were  then  examining  the  life  and  miracles  of  St.  Rose.  This  miracle 
was  so  public  and  well  authenticated  that,  to  keep  it  in  mind,  they  ordered 
that  the  little  girl  should  be  called  Mary  Rose,  which  name  she  bore  all 
her  \\h-. 

The  crowning  glory  of  Rose  of  Lima  was  yet  to  come.  She  was  can- 
onized in  1671  by  Pope  Clement  X,  who  appointed  August  30th  for  her  fes- 
tival. Thus  the  church  of  Go<l  solemnly  set  the  seal  of  her  unerring 
approval  upon  tiiat  chain  of  wonders  which  extended  from  the  cradle  to  the 
grave  in  the  career  of  America's  first  saint. 


ChaptcP  XXIII. 


Tamous  Hcio  Ulopld  Sbnines. 


CONVERSION  OF  an  Aztec  Indian. — A  Strange  Mountain  Walk.— Visions  op 
THE  Dazzling  Princess. — Message  to  the  Bishop.— Flowers  and  Portrait 
as  Tokens.— Various  Miracles  at  Guadalupe.— Shrine  of  a  Whole  Nation. 
—Vow  of  Breton  Sailors.  —  Chapel  of  St  Anne  de  Beaupre.  —  Relics 
AND  Miracles.— Other  Shrines  of  Our  Lady. 


®\xv  ^al^  of  (Buabaliipe. 

\K^|[^HE  story  and  celebration  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  are  not  so 
"      ^      familiar  to  Catholics,  or  so  well  appreciated  by  others,  as  to  render 
useless  or  uninteresting  an  account  of  her  veneration  in  Mexico. 

It  is  midwinter  in  1531,  and  a  peasant  of  active  build,  with 
dark  hair  and  eye,  trudges  patiently  along  the  stony  ribs  of  a  bar- 
ren, sun. scorched  hill.  His  monarch  has  been  overthrown  by  pale- 
visaged  intruders,  coming  up  from  the  coast  clad  in  armor  impervious  to 
Aztec  arrow  or  obsidian  glaive ;  their  horrific  thunder  has  dispersed  the  ser- 
ried forces  of  Anahuac,  trodden  into  the  dust  by  the  gigantic  monsters  of  the 
invaders;  royal  ladies  have  been  humbled  by  the  resistless  stranger,  temples 
destroyed,  altars  overthrown.  Of  what  profit  to  adhere  to  an  order  that  had 
not  force  to  maintain  itself  against  assault,  or  to  adore  invertebrate  deities 
powerless  to  secure  th^ir  stately  fanes.     Better  to  bow  the  neck,  to  yield   to 

456 


CATHOLIC  CllVRClI  IX  AMERICA  457 

fate,  and  to  await  the  return  of  Montezuma  to  liis  own  in  patience.  Tims 
had  reasoned  the  man  of  the  people.  He  had  renounced  his  old  allegiance 
to  Quetzal  and  Montezuma,  since  these  were  of  the  past,  and  accepted  the 
polity  of  the  dominant  power,  who  had  admitted  him  to  a  restricted  brother- 
hood with  mystic  rite,  replacing  his  very  name  by  the  unpretentious  appelta- 
tiori  of  John  James,  and  his  wife  and  other  relatives  had  made  similar 
submission. 

The  modest  aspect  and  speech  of  the  new  teachers  in  long,  chocolate- 
colored  robes  and  flowing  beards  contrasted  gratefully  with  the  violence  of 
the  musketeers,  and  the  desire  grew  upon  the  peasant  to  know  more  of  their 
learning.  Therefore  was  he  trudging  through  the  brisk,  keen  air  of  this  bright 
December  morning  to  hear  the  instru.ction  that  they  constantly  delivered. 
The  man  paused  to  survey  the  attractive  panorama  stretched  at  his  feet.  A 
league  to  the  south  stood  the  new  city  of  Mexico,  on  the  site  of  the  ruined 
Tenochtitlan ;  to  the  right  ranged  a  long  succession  of  blue,  pine-clad  heights; 
while  to  the  east  giant  snowy  volcanoes  formed  a  stately  background  to  the 
glittering  waters  of  Lake  Teztoco,  its  surface  dotted  with  the  dug-out  canoes 
of  fishermen,  whilst  dark  flocks  of  ducks  fed  quietly  on  the  silvery  expanse, 
heedless  of  those  of  their  fellows  drawn  stealthily  beneath  the  waves  by  the 
cunning  Aztec  divers.  Then  his  thoughts  reverted  to  Tonantzin,  the  Juno  of 
his  people,  formerly  worshiped  on  this  very  hill  with  mild  and  bloodless  rites. 

But  suddenly  he  hears  entrancing  strains  of  music,  far  surpassing  in  the 
sweetness  of  their  melody  the  most  finished  performances  of  his  own  people 
or  of  t  lie  Spaniards.  Then  appeared  to  the  awe-struck  and  wondering  rustic 
a  fair  and  modest  princess,  habited  after  the  fashion  of  his  people,  who 
accosted  him  with  kindness,  telling  him  that  she  willed  a  temple  to  be  built 
there  in  her  honor,  and  directing  him  to  convey  her  message  to  the  bishop. 
In  reverent  attitude  he  heard  and  promised  compliance.  This,  however,  was 
not  so  simple  of  performance;  and  when  with  true  Aztec  doggedness  he 
finally  effected  his  purpose,  the  man  was  only  derided  for  his  pains  as  a  par- 
tially reclaimed  idolater,  steeped  in  the  superstitions  of  his  early  days,  ami 
evolving  visions  from  the  dark  recesses  of  his  pagan  imagination.  He 
returned  to  the  Lady.  She  promises  to  see  him  again,  and  permits  him  to 
retire  to  his  home  at  Tolptlac,  where,  with  Lucy  Mary,  his  wife,  he  sjiecu- 
lated  as  to  what  this  might  import.  The  next  day  being  Sunday,  he  returned 
vo  the  hill.  The  Lady  repeated  her  injunction,  and  the  Indian  again 
approached    tlie    prelate.     Tiiis  dignitary,    Don   Juan    Zumarraga,    hereon 


458  TRIALS  AND  TRILMPIIS  OP  THE 

demanded  a  sign,  and  sent  the  man  away,  who  at  the  hill  disappeared  from 
the  ken  of  the  bishop's  retainers,  secretly  observing  his  movements.  lie 
again  met  the  Lady,  who,  hearing  his  demand  for  a  sure  evidence  to  satisfy 
the  prelate,  ordered  his  attendance  the  next  day.  Returning  to  his  home, 
Juan  Diego  found  his  uncle  suffering  from  a  severe  fever,  and  attending  on 
him  he  omitted  to  visit  the  mountain  as  directed.  Next  day,  his  relative  being 
in  mortal  peril,  he  started  for  Tlaltelolco  to  obtain  for  him  the  spiritual  minis- 
trations of  one  of  the  Franciscans  there  resident.  Intent  on  his  mission,  he 
deviated  from  his  customary  route  over  the  mountain's  brow,  where  the  Lady, 
he  judged,  would  be  sure  to  delay  him,  passing  nearer  to  the  Tezcocan  Lake. 
But  she  was  not  to  be  evaded  by  this  feeble  artifice;  for  the  worthy  Juan 
saw  her  coming  down  to  him,  and  to  his  representations  she  merely  replied 
that  his  uncle  had  perfectly  recovered,  and  ordered  him  to  gather  the  flowers 
he  should  find  growing  on  the  mountain,  and  bear  them  as  a  sign  to  the  bish- 
op. Now,  plenty  of  flowers  are  to  be  found  in  the  gardens  around  Mexico  at 
all  seasons,  but  it  was  altogether  an  unheard-of  thing  that  roses  should  flourish 
untended  on  the  exposed  hillside  in  December.  On  the  medium  elevations 
of  the  Tierras  Templadas  the  temperature  is  extremely  equable,  and  wherever 
water  is  abundant  a  perpetual  summer  reigns,  yielding  a  varied  and  active 
vegetation,  which  embraces  all  the  cereals,  fruits,  and  vegetables  of  Central 
and  Southern  Europe,  amongst  which  maize,  oranges,  lemons,  grapes,  and 
olives  are  produced  in  the  most  exuberant  abundance.  The  Tierras  Frias 
possess  a  generally  temperate  climate,  but  on  the  highest  of  the  table-lands, 
the  air  is  keener,  and  the  soil  more  arid,  and  agriculture  is  limited  to  the 
cultivation  of  barley  and  of  the  agave,  or  Mexican  aloe,  which  held  the  place 
of  the  vine  among  the  ancient  Aztecs,  and  is  still  extensively  cultivated  for 
the  sake  of  its  juice,  which  is  made  into  the  fermented  drink  known  under 
the  name  of  pulque.  In  addition  to  the  vegetable  products  referred  to, 
Mexico  yields  cofifee,  tobacco,  yams,  capsicums,  pepper,  pimento,  indigo, 
ipecacuanna,  fan-palms  and  india-rubber  trees.  But  the  Indian,  plucking  the 
blossoms  in  the  place  indicated,  placed  them  in  his  tilnia — which  is  a  blanket 
used  as  an  overcoat — and  bore  them  to  the  episcopal  residence. 

If  the  flowers  caused  the  bishop  some  momentary  surprise,  what  was  his 
awe  and  amazement  at  seeing  a  beautiful  painting  of  the  heavenly  visitant 
emblazoned  in  bright  colors  on  the  workman's  robe  containing  the  fragrant 
buds  and  blossoms!  Reverently  and  on  his  knees  did  the  bishop  receive  this 
venerable  token,  and,  attended  by  his  clerk,  he  forthwith  bestowed  it  with  all 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  JX  AMERICA  459 

honor  in  his  private  chapel.  The  Indian  then  returned  to  his  home  accom- 
panied by  two  messengers  from  the  bishop,  and  there  found  his  uncle  perfectly 
recovered,  the  hour  of  his  healing  corresponding  with  that  at  which  the  lady 
had  appeared  to  his  favored  nephew.  Deeply  moved  by  these  heavenly 
manifestations  of  regard,  the  twain  dedicated  their  lives  to  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
residing  thenceforth  by  the  chapel  which  the  bishop,  a  few  weeks  later, 
ojicncd  for  the  reception  of  the  holy  picture  at  the  spot  where  the  roses  were 
found  growing.  The  Indian  and  his  wife  took  a  vow  of  chastity,  and  there 
he  died  a  most  edifying  death  a  short  time  after  the  Tudor  Bluebeard,  who 
made  Israel  to  sin,  expired  in  such  a  woeful  despair  in  London.  One  is 
reminded  of  St.  Paul's  words  to  the  obdurate  Jews:  "Since  you  judge  your- 
selves unworthy  of  eternal  life,  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles;"  if  we  renounce  our 
promised  heavenly  throne  God  can  provide  for  it  a  worth}'  occupant. 

The  down-trodden  native  race  now  had  a  patroness  of  their  own,  and  the 
Mother  of  God,  under  the  guise  of  a  Mexican  princess,  was  venerated  at  the 
hill  of  Tonantzin,  the  ancient  mother  of  the  gods.  This  cultus,  therefore,  has 
always  had  a  national,  emphatically  an  Indian  character,  and  the  conversion 
ot  the  poj)ulation,  at  first  beset  with  difficulties,  now  progressed  apace.  The 
papal  recognition  of  the  miracle  was  long  delayed,  and  it  was  not  till  the 
middle  of  the  last  century  that  the  Congregation  of  Rites  finally  set  its  seal 
upon  the  events  here  recorded,  and  ikclared  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  the 
patroness  of  New  Spain.  However,  the  local  authorities,  both  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical, had  forestalled  them  in  this,  and  the  devotion  was  firmly  rooted  in 
the  land.  So  jealous  were  the  people  of  foreign  interference,  that  a  devout 
Italian  client  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  who  had  attempted  to  collect  funds 
for  beautifying  her  shrine,  was  imprisoned  for  some  time,  his  goods  confis 
cated,  and  himself  expelled  the  country  with  every  expression  of  contempt 
for  his  uninvited  activity.  At  the  revolt  against  Spanish  rule  Our  Lady  of 
Guadalupe  became  the  rallying  cry  of  the  popular  party;  it  was  to  Mexico 
what  St.  George  was  anciently  to  England,  St.  Denis  to  France,  and  St. 
James  to  Spain.  The  priest  Hidalgo,  who  led  the  revolt,  took  for  his  standard 
a  banner  emblazoned  with  the  portrait  of  this  Virgin,  so  that  the  devotion  has 
a  political  as  well  as  a  religious  aspect. 

No  one  can  live  li>ng  in  Mexico  without  having  the  Guadalupe  invige 
thoroughly  impressed  on  his  memory.  We  cannot  recall  any  so  popular  a 
monument  elsewhere.  In  every  house  it  is  found,  of  course  in  every  temple; 
it  IS  on  the  match-boxes  and  cigarette-cases,  in  the  butchers'  and  bakers'  shops. 


460  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

As  to  the  image  itself,  it  is  not  iinpleasinor — a  young  lad\'  with  eyes  lowered 
and  hands  joined  in  devotion;  lici  ilaik  hair  pai  ted  in  the  middle,  with  a  crown 
resting  on  the  head;  a  blue  mantle  studded  with  stars  and  fastened  at  the 
neck  by  a  clasp  descends  to  the  feet,  and  beneath  this  is  worn  a  rose-colored 
dress,  whilst  the  figure  stands  on  a  moon,  borne  by  a  youthful  angel.  From 
tiic  image  on  all  sides  radiates  a  golden  halo.  The  painting  is  said  to  be  on 
both  sides  of  the  cloth,  and  a  commission  of  artists  who  examined  it  were. 
unable  to  say  by  what  process  it  had  been  executed.  These  circumstances 
excite  the  ire  of  the  infidels,  and  a  few  very  truculent  ones  there  used  to  be  in 
the  foreign  elements  of  the  capital. 

A  number  of  churches  have  been  erected  at  Guadalupe  at  various  times, 
and  there  are  now  five;  the  collegiate  church,  the  parish  church,  and  the 
chapels  of  the  old  convent,  of  the  hill,  and  of  the  well.  The  former  is  the 
most  important,  and  has  been  renovated  and  beautified  from  time  to  time; 
but  as  it  is  shortly  to  be  reopened,  after  having  been  in  the  architect's  hands 
for  several  years  past,  it  is  premature  to  speak  of  it  in  detail.  It  stands  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain,  and  is  the  first  noteworthy  object  reached  on  the  journcv 
from  the  capital.  We  may  attain  the  summit  by  two  long  stone  stairways; 
and  here  on  the  terrace,  surrounded  by  a  stone  wall,  stands  the  chapel  which 
marks  the  spot  where  the  Indian  gathered  the  roses.  The  place  was  at  first 
distinguished  by  a  cross;  then,  after  the  lapse  of  over  a  century,  b}'  a  chapel, 
which  was  replaced  by  the  present  structure  at  the  commencement  of  the  last 
century.  It  is  adorned  by  appropriate  pictures,  and  contains  some  notable 
monuments. 

From  the  terrace  a  magnificent  prospect  unfolds  itself,  the  towers  and 
domes  of  the  capital  sparkle  in  the  sempiternal  sunshine,  to  the  left  glitters 
the  lake  of  Tezcoco,  whilst  beyond  the  crests  of  the  twin  volcanoes  crownea 
with  their  snowy  canopy  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  beholder.  In  the  rear  is  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  cemeteries  in  the  country,  beautified  with  parterres  of 
flowers,  well-kept  paths  and  lawns  of  emerald.  Many  of  the  monuments  are 
works  of  art  in  marble,  limestone,  or  the  beautiful  Pueblo  onyx.  The  names 
of  warriors  and  statesmen,  of  poets  and  presidents,  and  of  not  a  few  who  have 
attained  to  world-wide  fame,  may  be  read  on  the  stone.  Not  the  least  note- 
worthy is  the  grave  of  Santa  Aiia,  that  brilliant  meteor  of  war,  statecraft,  and 
ambition,  which  finally  set  in  such  gloomy  obscurity,  grim  close  to  so  rest- 
less a  career. 

Descending  by  the  eastern  stairway,  a  tall  stone  monument  arrests  the 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  I.V  AMERICA  461 

eye,  which  is  said  to  represent  the  masts,  yards,  and  square  sails  of  a  ship, 
but  the  resemblance  is  not  strikingly  apparent.  The  story  of  it  is  that  a 
storm -battered  craft  tossing  on  the  dark  waters  of  the  gulf  during  a  hurricane 
was  seemingly  past  hope  and  beyond  human  aid;  the  crew  hereupon  implored 
the  succor  of  their  patroness,  vowing,  moreover,  that,  were  they  delivered, 
they  would  in  gratitude  bear  ihe  masts  of  their  vessel  to  Guadalupe  and  there 
deposit  them  as  a  thank-offering — which  promise,  on  reaching  Vera  Cruz  in 
safety,  they  actually  performed,  enclosing  the  masts  and  yards  iir  a  protecting 
envelope  of  masonry.  At  the  foot  of  this  Hight  of  steps  we  come  on  the  spot 
where  the  Lady  stood  when  she  spoke  with  the  Indian.  The  dome  of  this 
building,  funned  with  blue,  white,  and  yellow  enameled  tiles,  is  very  pleasing 
as  it  sparkles  in  the  clear  sunlight.  The  well  itself,  which  is  said  to  possess 
beneficial  properties,  is  in  the  porch,  protected  by  a  screen  of  iron-work, 
attached  to  which  is  a  metal  dipper;  this  is  much  frequented,  and  during  the 
festivals  it  is  hard  to  approach  it  from  the  throng  of  Indians  anxious  to  fill 
empty  bottles  with  the  sacred  water  for  conveyance  to  their  distant  abodes. 
Within  the  chapel  has  been  much  beautified  of  late  in  excellent  taste,  with 
paintings  of  the  various  apparitions.  A  statue  of  Juan  Diego  supports  the 
pulpit,  and  an  original  portrait  in  oils  of  this  venerable  person  may  be  seen  in 
the  sacristy.  This  church  is  a  hundred  years  old,  and  was  a  work  of  devotion, 
both  architects  and  laborers  giving  their  services  gratuitously.  In  fact,  so 
great  was  the  enthusiasm  that  masons  and  workmen  were  permitted  to  devote 
Sundays  and  festivals,  their  only  spare  time,  to  the  task,  which  in  the  evening 
they  could  with  difficulty  be  induced  to  abandon,  while  gentlewomen  brought 
such  material  as  thev  coulil  to  the  workers  in  their  aprons. 

Without  the  porch  and  at  the  ascent  of  the  staircase,  a  pillar  supports 
an  image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which  marks  the  position  of  her  first  appear- 
ance. The  parish  church  is  in  nowise  remarkable  except  that  its  sacristy  was 
the  second  building  erected  for  the  bestowal  of  the  miraculous  picture.  It 
stands  on  the  north  side  of  a  small  plaza,  planted  with  tree>  and  flowers,  and 
provided  with  commodious  benches.  Hard  by  are  a  series  of  buildings 
employed  for  school  and  municipal  purposes;  this  was  originally  the  cunvent 
of  Poor  Clares,  founded  a  little  before  the  Chapel  of  the  Well,  and  secular- 
ized, together  with  all  similar  foundations,  on  the  downfall  of  the  empire 
of  Maximilian.  .Several  attempts  made  at  various  periods  to  erect  a  monastic 
establishment  at  Guadalupe  proved  abortive,  the  authorities  jutlging  that  suf- 
ficient  religious  foundations   already   existed   in   the  country;    however,  an 


462  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

enthusiastic  nun,  one  Sister  Mary  Ann,  having  obtained  the  favor  of  the  arch- 
liishop,  thouyjh  tolallv  unprovided  with  funds,  obtained  permission  to  present 
her  petition  in  person  to  the  Spanish  monarch,  who  granted  her  leave  to 
make  a  collection  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  nunnery  of  her  order  at 
Guadalupe.  Her  enthusiasm  proved  contagious;  over  a  couple  of  hundred 
thousand  dollars  were  obtained,  and  a  cloister  and  church  were  erected  close 
to  the  collegiata.  The  cliurch  is  actually  employed  for  its  original  purpose, 
and  during  the  last  few  vcars,  as  the  collegiate  temple  has  been  undergoing 
renovation,  the  holy  picture  has  been  kept  here. 

Guadalupe  was  made  a  town  in  the  last  century,  and  still  later  a  city; 
however,  it  is  actually  a  village  with  some  three  thousand  inhabitants,  and 
possesses  scanty  advantages  in  the  natural  order,  the  mortality  being  over 
sixty  per  thousand.  Nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at  in  view  of  the  stagnant 
ditches  of  impure  water  which  characterize  the  place.  It  is  a  trist  and 
lugubrious  little  town,  and  stretching  eastwards  towards  the  lake  through 
arid  sandy  wastes  is  still  another  Pant^on,  or  burial  ground,  not  so  sumptuous 
as  that  on  the  mountain,  but  yet  well  provided  with  seemly  monuments.  A 
statue  of  the  priest  Hidalgo,  the  Mexican  Washington,  stands  near  the  market- 
place, and  the  city  is  called  after  him,  being  officially  styled  Guadalupe 
Hidalgo.  Here  was  signed  the  treaty  of  that  name  by  which  Mexico  ceded 
a  moiety  of  her  territorj-  to  the  United  States.  On  the  way  towards  the 
capital  are  some  mineral  baths;  the  road,  along  which  dapper  little  mules 
whisk  the  tram-cars  in  jingling  career,  is  raised  above  the  marshy  pastures 
where  forlorn-looking  cattle  wade  lugubriously,  whilst  parallel  to  this  runs 
the  ancient  pilgrimage  causeway,  flanked  by  fifteen  handsome  altars  of  stone 
with  representations  of  the  mysteries  of  the  Rosary.  But  the  pilgrims  who 
take  this  route  have  now  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  tarry  at  these  mould 
ering  shrines  to  tell  their  beads;  they  fly  past  them  heedlessly  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  an  ear-piercing  screech,  for  the  road  is  now  monopolized  bj'  the 
Vera  Cruz  Railway. 

So  does  the  modern  spirit  roughly  elbow  old-world  ideas  in  Mexico  as 
elsewhere,  but  despite  of  this  Guadalupe  is  a  stronghold  of  popular  devotion, 
and  when  it  ceases  to  be  so  the  land  will  be  inhabited  by  another  race  and  the 
Aztec  will  have  disappeared. 

The  festival  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  occurred  on  Saturday,  the  12th 
of  December.  This,  with  the  celebration  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  on 
the    Sth  of   that    month,  made    an    intermission  of   business   of   eight  days, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  I.\'  ASH- RICA  463 

including  two  Sundays.  And  the  Sundays  and  feasts,  it  may  be  said  in  passing, 
are  being  observed  more  strictly  in  Mexico  year  by  year.  Many  of  the 
Mexican  shops — nay,  the  majority — are  closed  all  Sunday,  though  it  is  said 
that  the  assistants  in  the  large  establishments  have  to  attend  and  dress  the 
store  for  the  ensuing  week ;  the  remainder  with  certain  customary  exceptions, 
tobacconists  and  the  like,  close  from  midday.  The  churches  were  again 
crowded  all  the  forenoon,  the  blue  draperies  used  on  the  Sth  having  given 
place  to  white  and  gold.  The  altars  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  were 
naturally  the  objects  of  especial  devotion,  and  hotel  streets  and  private  resi- 
dences were  gaily  adorned.  A  frequent  and  effective  device  is  to  stretch 
strings,  from  which  depend  little  bannerets  of  blue  and  white  paper,  across 
the  street  from  the  upper  windows  of  the  houses;  this  produces  the  effect  of 
a  fluttering  roof  without  impeding  the  sunlight.  The  road  to  Guadalupe 
from  the  capital  was  a  merry  one  throughout  the  day;  every  few  minutes 
long  processions  of  mule-cars,  those  of  the  second-class,  crammed  with  a 
suffocating  mass  of  Indians,  proceeded  leisurely  northwards.  By  these  jogged 
in  the  dust  hundreds  of  ragged  but  happy  people  with  babies  swathed  in 
shawls  on  their  backs.  Numbers  of  heavy  carts,  tlenselv  tenanted  and 
bedecked  with  flags,  also  crawled  leisurely  along,  but  so  good-natured  did  the 
cheerful  multitude  appear  that  the  mounted  gens-cParines  had  little  to  do  but 
to  add  effect  to  the  pageant  by  the  caracoling  of  their  mettlesome  chargers. 
Arrived  in  the  little  city  the  cram  was  appalljng;  but  perseverance  works 
marvels,  and  by  a  judicious  admixture  of  forbearance  and  self-assertion  the 
clamorous  throng  of  fruit-sellers  was  passed  and  the  center  reached.  Here 
are  a  number  of  stalls  for  cheap  and  unctuous  meals,  fruits,  cakes,  and  gaily- 
colored  candles,  the  latter  for  the  church. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  describe  the  festivities  of  the  occasion.  Tlie 
rumor  that  the  Collegiate  Church  was  to  be  opened  on  this  occasion  with  a 
concourse  of  bishops  from  all  parts  of  the  Republic  and  the  United  States 
was  an  error  into  which  many  fell,  thanks  to  some  over-informed  members  of 
the  press.  The  building  has  long  been  closed  for  repairs,  and  is  likely  to  so 
remain';  meanwhile  the  sacred  picture  is  in  the  small  neighboring  church 
formerly  the  chapel  of  the  Franciscan  nunnery.  A  few  policemen  guide  the 
people,  preventing  entrance  at  the  door  of  exit ;  the  crush  is  terrible,  and  one 
trembles  to  think  of  the  cremation  that  might  result  should  one  of  the 
numerous  tapers  fall  amidst  the  cotton-robed  throng.  But  we  escape  into  the 
sweet  air  of  heaven  at  length,  fight  our  j)alh  to  the  cars,  and   return  to  the 


464  TRIAIS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

capital.  There  at  night  bands  phiy  in  the  plazas,  the  facade  of  the  cathedral 
is  illuminated,  and  pyrotechnic  displays,  so  dear  to  the  Mexican  heart,  are 
frequent;  venders  of  sweets,  peanuts,  and  fruits  camp  in  the  roads  and  do  an 
al  fresco  business.  •  From  the  houses  hang  illuminated  copies  of  the  image, 
with  the  legend,  JVon  fecit  talitcr  otmti  nationp'' ;  and  we  at  length  retire, 
musing  on  the  indestructibility  of  religious  faith  even  in  a  materialistic  age. 


SI.  Anne  be  lOcanprq. 

From  another  literary  hand,  much  endeared  to  American  Catholics,  we 
gather  the  history  of  a  shrine  wliich  bids  fair  to  become  to  Canada  what 
Guadalupe  is  to  Mexico,  as  evidenced  for  a  long  time  by  the  annual  ])il- 
grimages  to  St.  Anne  de  Beauprt?. 

Long  ago,  in  some  far-away  time  too  distant  for  actual  history  to  have 
recorded  the  fact,  a  few  Breton  sailors,  coming  up  the  St.  Lawrence  were 
surprised  by  a  terrific  storm.  In  all  the  terror  of  tlie  moment,  the  blackness 
of  the  night,  the  howling  of  the  winds,  and  the  rushing  of  the  waters  their 
liearts  went  back  to  distant  Brittany.  In  childhood  and  in  youth  they  had 
been  taught  to  have  recourse  to  the  beloved  patroness  of  their  ch^re  Bretagne. 
Never  had  St.  Anne  d'Aurav  failed  to  hear  a  simple  and  heartfelt  prayer. 
They  registered  a  vow;  if  the  good  saint  brought  them  once  more  to  land, 
there  where  their  feet  touched  they  woukl  build  her  a  shrine.  A  morning 
came,  blue  and  cloudless.  These  brave  men  were  ashore,  and  where?  They 
looked  about  them.  To  the  nortlnward  rose  the  Laurcntian  hills,  to  the  south- 
ward the  wide  rolling  St.  Lawrence,  to  the  eastward  a  little  stream,  now  the 
St.  Anne,  dividing  tlie  settlement  from  the  neighboring  parish  of  St.  Joachim. 
In  such  surroundings  they  built  a  simple  wooden  chapel  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  a  shrine  now  famous  throughout  America. 

The  years  went  on;  these  hardy  voyagers  passed  on  their  way  and 
were  heard  of  no  more  in  the  village  they  had  founded.  But  habitations 
soon  grew  up,  and  the  settlement  of  Petit-Cap  began  to  be  known  by  the 
little  temple  which  stood  in  its  very  heart.  Meanwhile,  in  the  passing  years, 
the  springtime  floods  and  the  winter  storms,  and  even  the  hand  of  time  itself, 
began  to  tell  upon  the  sturdy  wooden  frame  of  the  good  saint's  shrine.  The 
project  of  rebuilding  it  was  first  seriously  entertained  somewhere  about  1660. 
A  prosperous  farmer  of  the  village,  named  Etienne  Lessard,  made  a  gener- 
ous donation  of   land  sufficient  for  tlie  erection  of   a   churcli,   provided   only 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AM  ERICA  465 

that  the  work  was  begun  at  once.  A  discussion  now  arose  as  to  the  pro- 
priety of  changing  the  site;  but  the  matter  was  finally  decided,  and  M.  \'ig- 
nal,  a  priest  from  Quebec,  went  down  to  Petit-Cap  to  bless  the  foundations. 
He  was  accompanied  by  M.  d'Aillebout,  governor  of  New  France,  who  went 
thither  expressly  to  lay  the  corner-stone.  But  the  people  long  before  this,  it 
seemed  even  from  the  very  origin  of  the  settlement,  had  learned  to  love  and 
venerate  the  mother  of  Mary,  who  had  come,  as  it  were,  in  so  extraordinary 
a  manner  to  their  shore.  Even  the  Indians  heard  in  their  distant  trading- 
posts  from  the  voice  of  the  black-gown  this  message  of  peace,  and,  hearing, 
they  believed.  So  they  urged  their  swift  canoes  thitherward  over  the  great, 
wild  river  from  their  homes  in  the  trackless  wilderness,  where  only  the 
dauntless  hearts  of  the  missionaries  had  as  yet  dared  to  penetrate.  Their 
solemn  faces  and  uncouth  figures  gave  a  savage  wildness  to  the  groups  of 
pilgrims  as  their  grotesque  and  unfamiliar  tongue  mingled  often  at  morn  or 
evening,  in  prayer  or  hymn,  with  the  sweet,  soft  patois  of  Brittany  or  of 
Normandy.  To  tiic  Bretons  who  were  so  thickly  interspersed  throughout 
the  colonies,  this  spot  truly  was  a  glimpse  of  home.  Had  not  St.  Anne  heard 
their  childish  prayers  or  some  passionate  heart-cry  of  fervid  youth,  and  did 
they  not  find  her  here  again  among  these  dreary,  rugged  wilds,  where  other- 
wise the  soul  of  the  exile  found  only  desolation?  Many  a  tear  stole  down 
the  weather-beaten  faces  of  hardy  mariners  as  they  knelt  with  the  familiar 
"  Saint  Anne,  M^re  de  la  Vierge-Marie,  priez  pour  nous."  They  had 
found  for  the  moment  home,  country,  and  youth.  This  second  church, 
which  remained  in  use  till  1S76,  was  built  of  stone  and  stood  just  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill,  where  the  present  chapel  for  processions  now  is.  During  the 
years  following  its  erection  multitudes  of  pilgrims  flocked  thither. 

Amongst  those  whose  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  church  and  the  pro- 
pagation of  the  devotion  have  woven  a  -halo  round  this  village  shrine  is  that 
immortal  Bishop  of  Quebec — he  who,  coming  of  the  ancient  and  knightly 
race,  the  Barons  Montmorenci  de  I^aval,  forsook  the  splendors  of  a  luxurious 
court  and  the  softness  of  a  southern  climate  to  devote  his  wonderful  intellect 
to  the  service  of  the  primitive  Canadian  Church.  He  was  truly  a  knight  of 
God — a  man  whose  life,  full  of  all  the  interest  that  a  lofty  and  self-denying 
purpose  can  give  it,  is  likewise  teeming  with  the  romance  engendered  by  the 
vviUl  and  savage  surroundings  from  which  he  shone  out  with  meteoric  glory. 
Lance  in  rest,  he  broke  ilown  all  bulwarks  that  separated  his  mission  from 
full  accomplishment,  and,  ever  reaily  to  seize  the  means  which  the  piDvidcncp 


466  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

of  God  placed  at  his  HmiuI,  lie  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  making  St. 
Aiinc  ever  better  known  and  more  beloved.  Somewhere  about  1670  he 
sought  and  obtained  from  the  chapter  of  Carcassonne  a  precious  relic  of  that 
good  mother,  St.  Anne.  This  relic  is,  in  fact,  a  portion  of  the  saint's  finger, 
and  is  vouched  for  by  the  cathedral  chapter  of  Carcassonne  by  Mgr.  de 
Laval,  and  by  the  present  Archbishop  of  Quebec,  Cardinal  Taschereau. 
It  was  not  for  more  than  two  centuries  later — 1877 — that  the  church  at  Petit- 
Cap,  or  St.  Anne  de  Beaupr^,  as  it  is  now  called,  came  into  possession  of  a 
second  relic  of  this  saint,  which  was  brought  from  Rome  by  the  Rev.  M.  N. 
Lalibert^,  some  time  cur6  there. 

Rich  gifts  began  to  poiw  in,  and  tlie  attention  of  royalty  itself  was  drawn 
to  the  spot;  for  a  gleam  from  the  magnificence  of  that  traditionally  splendid 
court  of  Louis  le  Grand  fell  upon  that  humble  sanctuary  hard  b}'  the  blue 
stream  which  still  bore  the  Indian  voyager  upon  his  way.  It  is  part  of  the 
romance  which  antiquity  has  lent  to  the  place,  this  offering  made  by  the 
queen-mother  of  Louis  XIV.  Anne  of  Austria's  own  royal  hands  worked  a 
handsome  chasuble  as  a  gift  to  the  good  St.  Anne.  The  ornaments  upon  it 
are  red,  white,  and  black  arrows,  and  the  whole  is  richly  wrought  in  gold  and 
silver.  Now,  though  that  splendid  pageant  of  a  dream,  that  gorgeous  phan- 
tom of  a  dead  royalty,  has  passed  into  tradition,  the  vestment  worked  by  the 
royal  mother's  hands,  is  still  seen  at  the  altar  of  St.  Anne's  upon  grand  occa- 
sions. Another  patron  of  the  little  temple  was  the  Marquis  de  Tracy,  viceroy 
of  New  France.  In  danger  of  perishing  by  shipwreck,  this  devout  man 
made  a  vow  that  if  St.  Anne  procured  his  safety,  he  would  make  her  a  hand- 
some offering.  So  there  the  offering  is,  now  hung  above  the  high  altar  of 
the  new  church.  It  is  a  painting  from  the  pencil  of  Le  Brun,  and  represents 
St.  Anne,  our  Blessed  Lady,  and  two  pilgrims,  a  man  and  woman.  At  the 
base  of  the  picture  are  the  arms  of  the  donor.  A  costly  silver  reliquary 
adorned  with  precious  stones,  and  two  pictures  painted  by  the  Franciscan 
friar,  Luc  Lafran^ois,  are  the  gifts  of  Mgr.  de  Laval;  while  there  is  a  crucifix 
of  solid  silver  presented  by  the  hero  of  Iberville  in  1706,  in  return  for  favors 
obtained.  So  does  the  past  intermingle  everywhere  with  the  present,  and 
such  tokens  speak  like  the  voices  of  the  dead,  giving  testimony  of  answered 
prayers.  Kneeling  there  before  that  beloved  mother  of  the  Mother  of  Christ, 
we  can  see  in  fancy,  as  humble  suppliants  by  our  side,  the  great  and  good 
prelate  whose  name  shines  out  from  the  early  Canadian  annals  with  an  unsur- 
passed lustre,  or   the   valiant  soldiers,  proud   and   warlike   viceroys,  gay  and 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  467 

gallant  barons  of  France,  who  have  bent  the  knee  here,  humble,  believing, 
hopeful  as  the  poor  fisher  whose  boat  rocked  the  while  upon  the  surging 
waters  without.  In  1S75,  a  magnificent  banner,  seven  feet  and  a  half  high, 
by  four  and  a  half  broad,  was  presented  to  the  cur^  by  his  excellency,  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Caron,  of  Quebec.  On  one  side  of  it  is  St.  Anne  teaching 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  the  two  figures  encircled  by  a  silver  shower.  Above 
and  below  is  inscribed:  " St.  Anne, Consolation  of  the  Afflicted,  pray  for  us." 
The  reverse  of  the  banner  represents  St.  Joachim  as  a  pilgrim,  proceeding  to 
the  temple  with  his  simple  gift  of  two  white  doves.  The  work  thereupon 
was  done  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  The  walls  and  sanctuary  are  fairly  cov- 
ered with  crutches,  hearts  of  gold  and  silver,  and  the  like,  each  one  telling  of 
a  belief  in  some  cure  obtained,  or  petition  heard. 

But  of  course  all  this  is  in  the  new  church.  For  the  second  edifice,  which 
was  in  use  till  1S76,  became  gradually  insufficient  for  the  growing  wants  of 
the  mission,  even  though  it  had  been  several  times  enlarged  and  otherwise 
improved,  and  in  17S7  was  almost  totally  rebuilt.  A  dispute  again  occurred 
as  to  whether  this  third  new  church  should  be  built  upon  the  former  site,  or 
removed  to  a  greater  distance  from  the  water.  The  ecclesiastical  authorities 
took  the  latter  view ;  but  the  question  was  discussed  with  more  and  more 
warmth,  till  at  la-.t  it  was  agreed  upon  that  the  chuuch  should  be  built  upon 
the  old  site.  Immediately  all  discord  ceased  and  the  work  was  soon  carried 
to  the  desired  end.  Clearly  the  good  St.  Anne  herself  preferred  the  ancient 
site. 

The  chapel,  during  all  these  years,  had  been  served  by  missionaries, 
amongst  whom  were  Jesuits,  Franciscan  friars  of  the  branch  known  as 
Observantincs  or  Recollects,  and  secular  priests  from  tiic  seminary  of  Quebec. 
The  lives  and  incidents  in  the  lives  of  many  of  them  are  replete  with  interest. 
The  first  recorded  is  Father  Andrii  Richard,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  who 
was  a  missionary ;  the  second.  Father  Lemercier,  also  a  Jesuit  missionary. 
The  latter  had  been  for  almost  twenty  years  laboring  in  the  Huron  missions, 
of  which  he  was  afterwards  superior.  He  left  Quebec  in  16S5,  and  died  in 
the  Antilles.  Another  pastor  of  St.  Anne's  from  1690  to  1699,  was  M.  Filon, 
a  secular  priest,  who  was  drowned  returning  by  canoe  from  Bale  Saint-Paul 
under  tiic  following  heroic  circumstances.  There  were  some  others  in  the 
canoe  with  him,  and  in  attempting  their  rescue  he  lost  his  own  life.  Just  as 
he  brought  the  last  passenger  to  bhore,  he  was  struck  by  a  floaling  spar, 
which  hurled  him  among  the  rocks  and  caused  his  ilcalh.     I  lis  body  was  found 


468  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

by  a  young  girl  named  Bouchard.  With  tender  reverence  she  placed  it  in  a 
birch-bark  coffin  and  planted  a  cross  above  it.  Some  days  later  she  brought 
it  to  Cape  St.  Anne,  letting  it  float  after  her  canoe.  Tradition  adds,  that  on 
its  being  buried  next  day,  in  the  little  village  where  the  dead  priest  had  ir.in- 
istered,  a  superb  cross  of  gold  was  placed  above  it.  This  young  girl  after- 
wards became  a  sister  of  the  Congregation  de  Notre  Dame  in  Montreal, 
under  the  name  of  Soeur  Saint-Paul.  Mgr.  Morin,  also  for  some  time  at  St. 
Anne's,  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  Canadian  priest.  M.  Port- 
neuf,  who,  after  leaving  Petit-Cap  and  its  shrine,  became  curd  of  St.  Joachim, 
was  forced  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  his  parishioners  to  offer  resistance 
to  the  English,  who  were  putting  everything  to  fire  and  the  sword.  He, 
with  many  of  his  little  band,  fell  victims  of  their  own  heroism  on  the  23d  of 
August,  1759,  and  the  brave  curd  was  buried  without  a  coffin. 

In  or  about  1S71  the  first  steps  were  taken  towards  the  erection  of  the 
present  church.  In  May,  1S72,  the  bishops  of  the  province  issued  a  pastoral 
letter  calling  upon  the  faithful  to  unite  heart  and  soul  in  this  enterprise.  The 
parishioners  at  once  subscribed  amongst  themselves  the  sum  of  sixteen  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  the  foundations  of  the  new  structure  were  laid  as  early  as 
June,  1873.  But  the  parishioners  were  not  left  alone  in  the  work.  From  all 
parts  of  the  province  subscriptions  poured  in,  and  hosts  of  pilgrims  flocked 
thither,  bringing  offerings  to  lay  at  the  feet  of  the  "good  St.  Anne."  The 
new  church,  which  has  cost  cloee  upon  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  is  fifty- 
two  feet  long  by  sixty-four  broad.  The  steeple  is  forty-five  feet  high.  The 
whole  stands  as  a  splendid  monument  of  the  faith  and  love  of  the  people.  It 
is  in  vain  that  petty  and  foolish  sneers  are  directed  against  the  "superstitious" 
belief  of  the  French-Canadian  peasant.  Still,  with  lofty  and  generous  trust 
in  the  power  of  God,  the  people  of  the  province  of  Quebec  have  gathered 
about  the  sanctuary  of  the  mother  of  Mary  and  built  this  stately  temple  in 
her  honor.  In  1S76  the  new  church  was  solemnly  blessed.  The  bishop,  fol- 
lowed by  priests,  acolytes,  the  students  of  the  seminary,  and  a  vast  concourse 
of  people,  bore  the  relic  from  the  old  church  to  the  new.  Every  year  jjil- 
grimages  go  thither  from  various  parts  of  the  province. 

The  year  of  1S76,  the  year  of  the  building  of  the  new  church,  was 
crowned  by  a  rescript  of  His  Holiness,  Pius  IX,  bearing  date  the  7th  of  May, 
by  which  he  declared  St.  Anne  patroness  of  the  province  of  Quebec,  as  long 
ago  St.  Joseph  had  been  declaicd  patron  of  all  Canada.  This  decree  was 
received  with  universal  joy  by  the  faithful. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  I\'  AMERICA  469 

The  interior  of  the  church  is  adorned  with  eight  altars,  the  high  altar 
being  the  gift  of  Cardin:d  Taschereau,  of  Quebec;  the  Blessed  Virgin's, 
that  of  the  bishop  oi  Montreal;  one  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  that  ot  the 
bishop  of  St.  Hyacinth;  while  St.  Joseph's  is  donated  hv  the  bishop  of 
Ottawa,  the  Holy  Angels  by  the  clerks  of  St.  Viateur. 

Two  really  beautiful  stained  windows  which  adorn  the  chancel  are  the 
gift  of  four  parishioners.  \'arious  pictures  upon  the  walls  commemorate 
remarkable  deliverances  from  shipwreck  and  the  like.  Such  is  Le  P^re  Pierre 
and  the  crew  of  the  ship  Saint  Esprit  making  a  vow  to  St.  Anne;  or  the 
king's  vessel,  Le  Hdros,  on  the  point  of  foundering;  or  yet  another,  caughi 
in  the  ice  and  saved  through  the  intercession  of  St.  Anne.  Of  the  artistic 
excellence  of  many  of  these  pictures  we  say  nothing. 

Besides  the  relics  of  St.  Anne  already  mentioned  the  church  of  Beaupr^ 
can  boast  many  others,  such  as  one  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  of  St.  Deodatus, 
St.  Benedict,  St.  Valentine,  St.  Remi,  St.  Eulalie,  St.  Amantis  Pontianus, 
St.  Ctesarius,  and  others.  The  Rev.  M.  Gauvreau,  curt- from  1S75  to  1878, 
almost  completely  finished  the  exterior  of  the  new  church.  In  1S76  he  like- 
wise built  a  school  chapel  for  the  children  of  the  neighboring  concessions. 
He  also  conceived  the  idea  of  building  the  Chapel  of  the  Processions  out  of 
the  materials  of  the  old  church.  It  was  consecrated  October  2,  1S7S,  and  is 
intended  to  perpetuate  the  ancient  edifice,  being  erected  after  the  same  fashion 
and  surmounted  by  the  same  bell-tower,  whence  the  same  sweet-toned  voice 
calls  the  people  to  prayer  that  called  the  dead  and  gone  generations  ago.  Sit- 
uated upon  an  eminence,  and  being  used  especially  when  the  concourse  of  pil- 
grims is  very  great,  it  is  an  imitation  of  the  altar  of  the  Scala  Sancta  at  St. 
Anne  d'Aurav.  There  is  a  fountain  just  before  the  entrance  to  the  new 
church,  where  crowds  of  pilgrims  are  seen  using  the  water.  It  is  surmounted 
by  a  statue  of  St.  Anne,  which  statue,  or  some  image  of  the  mother  of  Mary, 
is,  as  the  author  of  the  "Canadian  Mecca" remarks,  seen  everywhere  through- 
out tile  village.  Somewliat  to  the  northeast  of  the  church  is  the  presbytere, 
or  parochial  residence,  now  occupied  by  the  Redemptorist  fathers,  who  have 
been  in  charge  of  the  mission  since  1S78. 

The  one  principal  street  of  St.  Anne's  runs  along  the  slope  of  a  hill 
which  ill  the  summer-time  is  thickly  covered  with  fruit-laden  trees.  Canadian 
homesteads  of  comfort  ami  of  plenty  line  it  on  either  side.  The  population 
consists  of  some  hundred  and  fifty  families,  who,  experiencing  little  of  "  life's 
ion"-  and  fitful  fever,"  spin  out  their  davs  in  a  primitive  and  rural  simplicity 


470  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

which  belonged  to  the  golden  epoch  of  la  Nouvellc  France.  The  traveler 
fresh  from  the  restless  bustle  of  a  modern  Babvloii  seeins  to  ni\d  hinisi-lf  sud- 
denly transported  to  some  far-away  Utopia  of  simple  content  which  has 
slept  for  centuries  an  enchanted  sleep,  and  awakes  isolated  indeed  from  the 
Juggernaut  of  progress.  The  handsome  church,  sole  token  of  modern  enter- 
prise, arises  like  a  new  Aladdin's  tower  from  amid  the  group  of  ijuaint, 
almost  mediaeval,  dwellings.  In  the  spring  and  summer  time  St.  Anne 
awakens  from  a  lethargy  m  which  it  has  been  plunged  during  the  long  win- 
ter, and,  as  the  city  of  some  Arabian  Nights'  tale,  is  suddenly  aglow  with 
life  and  animation.  Pilgrims  of  every  rank  and  condition  of  life  fill  its 
street;  matron  and  maiden,  priest  and  laynian,  the  young  anil  the  old,  the 
grave  and  the  gay,  come  thither,  an  eager  but  silent  and  recollected  throng, 
to  the  feet  of  the  good  St.  Anne.  Prayers  go  up,  hymns  ring  out  on  the 
stilly  evening  or  at  tranquil  morn,  and  the  pilgrims  take  their  homeward 
way,  with  a  vision  of  the  calm,  restful  loveliness  of  nature  there  in  that 
favored  spot  to  haunt  them  for  many  days.  They  remember  nature  at  St. 
Anne's,  with  her  dim  and  night-empurpled  hills,  amongst  which  linger  the 
memories  of  hundreds  of  years,  with  her  flowing  sunlit  streams,  the  waving 
of  trees  and  grass,  the  dreamy  village  life,  and  above  all  a  something  inde- 
scribable. That  something  is  not,  however,  of  nature,  but  is  beyond  and 
above  nature — the  solemn  spectacle  of  hundreds  of  believing  souls  setting 
the  cold  sneers  of  an  infidel  world  at  defiance  and  praying  heart-prayers  that 
as  surely  arise  to  the  throne  of  God  as  the  sun  that  gilds  their  course  mounts 
at  morning  to  the  mountain-top.  The  chant  and  the  organ-tone,  and  the 
murmur  of  pilgrim  voices  fade  into  a  distant  memory,  but  the  voyager  down 
that  sapphire  stream,  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  that  hill-shadowed  sanctuary  keeps 
for  a  life-time  the  impression  of  what  he  has  seen  and  heard. 


®nr  Crtbij  of  Autjclg. 

Among  all  who  loved  Marguerite  Bourgeois — and  who  did  not  love  and 
revere  her? — none  was  more  eminent  than  Mademoiselle  Jeanne  le  Ber. 
Daughter  of  the  wealthiest  merchant  in  French  America,  she  had  everything 
at  her  command  that  could  make  the  world  inviting;  an  esteemed  pupil  of 
the  pious  Ursulines,  the  religious  orders  would  have  thought  her  an  acquisi- 
tion, but  her  vocation  made  her  turn  from  both,  and  she  went  to  dwell  alone 
in  prayer,  and  work,  and  meditation  witii  God.      It  is  not   our  purpose  to  fol- 


CATHOLIC  CUVRCII  IN  AMERICA  47 1 

low  her  life,  but  only  to  look  at  it  as  a  devotion  to  Marv.  It  was  love  for 
this  Blessed  Mother  tli;it  drew  her  so  surely  and  attached  her  so  ardently  to 
the  congregation.  "  How  happy  your  lot,"  she  used  to  say  to  a  cousin  of  hers 
in  the  sisterhood,  "to  be  numbered  among  the  daughters  of  Mary!  Learn 
well  the  excellence  of  your  good  fortune  in  this,  and  all  the  extent  of  your 
obligations.  You  must  be  perfectly  free  from  the  maxims  of  the  world  and 
from  all  carnal  inclinations.  She  who  wears  the  livery  of  the  Most  Holy 
Virgin  must  care  for  naught  else."  Faithful  to  this  predilection,  when  the 
time  had  come  at  last  to  retire,  it  was  with  the  Congregation  of  Notre  Dame 
that  she  sought  seclusion.  The  immediate  cause  was  the  holy  death  of  a 
young  sister  of  that  society,  whom  she  tenderly  loved,  and  whose  death-scene 
was  of  such  beauty,  and  hopefulness,  and  peace,  that  it  broke  what  little  tie 
there  was  to  bind  her  to  the  world.  She  exclaimed  in  her  heart,  with  the 
Syrian  prophet,  "  Let  my  soul  die  the  death  of  the  just,  and  may  my  last  enii 
be  like  theirs."  She  determined  upon  absolute  seclusion,  but  it  was  exacted 
from  her  that  she  should  undergo  a  novitiate,  as  it  were,  of  five  years  in  the 
house  of  her  father.  This  ended,  her  mother's  death,  meanwhile,  giving  new 
strength  to  her  purpose,  she  retired  to  the  church  of  the  congregation,  which 
she  had  largely  aided  from  her  abundant  means. 

Here  in  a  little  cell  behind  the  altar,  dwelt  this  devoted  recluse,  the  cell 
modeled  upon  the  Santo  Camino  or  sacred  chamber  of  the  holy  house  of 
Loretto;  so  that  in  this  she  might  be  perpetually,  as  it  were,  under  one  roof 
with  the  Mother  of  the  Incarnate  Word.  Here,  with  her  Rorary,  her  Little 
Office  of  the  Blessed  ^'irgin,  and  her  utensils  for  embroidering — for  she  pro- 
posed no  idleness — she  was  at  length  inclosed,  after  vespers  on  the  Feast  of 
Our  Lady  of  the  Snows,  August  5,  1695,  to  go  no  more  out  forever.  Here 
she  dwelt  for  nineteen  years  in  prayer,  in  manual  labor  for  the  altar,  in  medi- 
tation, and  in  adoration  of  the  thrice  Holy  Sacrament. 

To  aid  her  in  obtaining  the  inner  union  which  she  sought  with  the  per- 
fect dispositions  imprinted  by  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  heart  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  she  kept  continually  before  her  eyes,  upon  the  walls  of  her  cell,  two 
pious  pictures. 

The  first  was  called  tlic  "interior  life  of  Mary."  There  you  saw  the 
blessed  among  women  enthroned  on  clouds,the  hands  crossed  upon  iier  immacu- 
late bosom,  while  the  sacred  dove,  hovering  over  her,  seemed  to  pour  from 
His  spotless  wings  His  sevenfold  grace.  The  eyes  of  Our  Lady,  raiseil  to 
heaven,  were  fixed   upon   the  sacred   monogram,  I.   H.  S. — Jeans  hominum 


472  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPH'S  OF  THE 

aalvaior.  This  showed  that  if  the  Holy  Spirit  were  the  source  of  Mary's 
actions,  Jesus  and  the  salvation  of  souls  was  their  end  and  aim.  Below  the 
print,  you  read:  "With  Mary.  By  Mary.  In  Mary."  This  was  Sister 
Le  Ber's — for  such  was  her  title  henceforward — this  was  her  object  now ; 
sought  steadily  in  prayer,  at  holy  Mass,  in  her  communions  and  other  pious 
exercises,  in  labor,  in  her  poor  repasts,  to  unite  herself  by  faith  anil  love  to 
the  interior  dispositions  of  Mary;  and  earnestly  she  besought  that  sacred  and 
tender  mother  to  be  with  her  spirit,  her  heart,  and  all  her  faculties;  to  be  the 
model  of  her  actions  and  the  soul  of  her  soul;  to  penetrate  and  fill  her  mind, 
to  possess  it  altogether,  until  she  should  become  a  simple  instrument  where- 
with the  mother  might  deign  to  glorify  her  Divine  Son. 

The  other  print  represented  the  same  good  mother  receiving  into  her 
arms  and  lovingly  supporting  a  Christian  soul,  which,  languishing  in  this  con- 
dition of  exile,  seemed  to  find  all  its  joy  and  repose  in  Mary.  The  Sulpicians 
celebrated  the  feast  of  this  interior  life  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  on  the  19th  of 
October,  and  for  the  pious  recluse  it  was  a  day  of  particular  devotion.  And, 
still  more  to  honor  it,  even  by  the  works  of  her  hands,  she  made  a  superb 
vestment  for  the  feasts  of  the  Immaculate  Queen,  and  in  the  center  of  the 
cross  she  embroidered  most  cunningly  the  picture  first  described.  How  all 
this  love  was  answered  and  increased,  we  shall  see  in  the  notes  of  the  chapels 
and  churches  connected  with  the  congregation.  She  never  wearied  in  her 
benefits  to  this  "family  of  Mary,"  as  she  calleil  it.  Her  means  had  greatly 
aided  the  building  of  their  church;  she  furnished  the  richest  vases  and  orna- 
ments for  the  altar;  she  founded  there  the  Perpetual  Adoration  of  the  Most 
Holy  Sacrament,  and  endowed  a  daily  Mass;  and  more,  to  maintain,  out  of 
filial  love  and  tender  devotion  to  Saint  Mary,  an  institute  so  distinctly  her  own, 
she  gave  them  ten  thousand  livres  "for  the  good  friendship  that  she  bears  to 
the  sisters  of  the  Congregation  of  Our  Lady,"  the  only  condition  being  that 
the  revenue  shall  be  applied  to  their  uses  in  Ville-Marie  alone. 

Glad  enough,  we  may  be  sure,  was  the  heart  of  Sister  Marguerite  to 
have  such  a  guest  within  the  walls  of  her  house.  At  the  time  of  her  coming 
there  were  other  guests  there  also.  The  hospital  sisters  had  been  burned 
out,  and  had  found  affectionate  welcome  from  the  humble  daughters  of  Our 
Lady. 

"  We  have  now,"  says  Marguerite  Bourgeois,  "  in  our  house  the  three 
estates  of  women  whom  our  dear  Lord  left  on  earth  after  His  resurrection, 
to  serve  Him  and  His  Church:  like  Magdalen,  by   solitary  life;  like  Martha, 


CATHOLIC  CIIVRCIJ  IN  AMP.RICA  473 

by  active  life  in  the  cloister;  like  the  most  holy  Virgin,  by  an  uncloistereti 
life  of  zeal."  There  lived,  then,  the  recluse,  so  busied  with  her  needle,  that 
she  furnished  all  the  parishes  of  Montreal  with  chasubles,  altar  fronts,  and 
other  ornaments.  They  still  preserve  in  the  parish  church  of  the  city  a  cope, 
chasuble,  and  dalmatics,  richly  embroidered  on  cloth  of  silver  by  her  nimble 
fingers.  Towards  herself  she  showed  an  extreme  parsimony,  making  her 
poor  woolen  robe  and  coarse  shoes  last  for  years  by  mending  them  repeat- 
edly herself ;  for  of  all  her  large  revenues,  what  was  left  from  her  gifts  to 
the  altar,  she  scrupulously  gave  to  the  poor.  She  knew  the  Psalms  and  the 
New  Testament  almost  entirely  by  heart.  They  were  her  books  of  predilec- 
tion. But,  besides  reading  these,  she  recited  daily  the  Litanies  of  the  Saints, 
the  Oflice  of  the  Cross,  the  Rosary,  and  the  Little  Office  of  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin. Add  to  these  her  ordinary  prayers,  mental  and  vocal,  her  adoration  of 
the  Sacrament,  the  office  for  the  dead  three  times  a  week,  her  embroidery, 
and  her  care  for  the  poor,  and  judge  whether  she  had  not  caught  some  of  the 
tireless  spirit  of  zeal  of  her  sacred  model  and  Mother. 

The  faithful  of  that  day  and  place  believed  that  the  angels  used  to  help 
her.  That  she  did  receive  many  and  visible  graces  from  on  high,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  doubt.  Touched  by  her  example,  her  brother  Pierre  also  renounced  the 
world  from  devotion  to  Mary  in  the  Holy  Family.  Joining  with  Francois 
Charon  de  la  Barre,  he  instituted  the  Hospital  Brothers  in  honor  of  St.  Joseph, 
and  built  with  his  fortune  a  chapel  of  St.  Anne,  the  mother  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  town  from  that  where  stood  his  sister's 
chapel  of  Bon  Secours.  This  was  the  origin  of  St.  Anne's,  so  famous  in 
song  and  northern  storw  Dying  before  his  sister,  he  left  to  her  beloved  com- 
munity ten  thousand  livrcs,  on  the  sole  condition  that  there  should  always  be  one 
of  the  sisters  who  should  bear  the  name  of  Saint  Mary, -and  another  that  of 
Saint  Anne.  His  body  was  buried  in  the  church  of  the  Hospital  Brothers, 
his  heart  in  the  chapel  of  the  Congregation  of  Our  Lady — that  it  and  his 
dear  sister's  heart  might  not  be  divided  even  in  the  grave. 

Marguerite,  dying,  had  charged  her  sisterhood  to  increase  the  accommo- 
dation for  their  schools  so  soon  as  Divine  Providence  should  provide  the  means. 
But  thirteen  years  passed  on,  the  necessity  annually  increasing,  but  the  good 
sisters  growing  no  richer.  For  years,  however,  this  project  had  lain  in  the 
charitable  heart  of  Jeanne  le  Ber,  and  now  that  she  felt  heaven  drawing 
nearer,  she  tietermined  to  execute  it.  First,  she  recommended  her  project  to 
the  Blessed  Virgin  and  to  her  holy  friends,  the  angels,  and  then  she  began  to 


474  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

press  the  sisters  to  the  work.  They  were  reluctant,  having  the  fear  of  ckbt 
before  their  eyes,  and  they  put  off  the  pious  rechise  as  well  as  they  could. 
But  they  were  used  to  listen  to  her  advice,  and  when  she  said  that  she  knew 
it  was  the  will  of  God,  and  that  the  angels  would  help  them,  they  went  to 
work  and  gave  the  first  orders,  although  the}-  had  neither  materials  nor  money. 
The  foundation  was  dug,  the  corner-stone  was  blessed  and  laid  by  M.  De  Bel. 
mont,  and  the  new  house  was  dedicated  to  their  heavenly  superior,  under  the 
title  of  Our  Lady  of  Angels.  This  was  the  inscription  on  the  plate  in  the 
corner-stone: 

"  Most  Holy  Virgin,  Queen  of  Angels,  refuge  and  safety  of  men,  receive 
the  prayers  which  we,  in  full  confidence,  offer,  to  obtain  your  blessed  pro- 
tection for  the  commencement,  the  advance,  and  the  completion  of  this 
building  which  your  servant  and  our  good  mother.  Marguerite  Bourgeois,  has 
charged  us  to  construct.  With  all  our  hearts  we  desire  that  it  may  serve  to 
augment  30ur  honor  and  the  glory  of  your  Divine  Son.  Do  not,  oh,  lmiii;icii- 
late  Virgin,  ever  permit  mortal  sin  to  enter  in  this  house.  Bid  the  holy 
angels  watch  so  well  over  the  conduct  of  all  who  dwell  therein,  that  you  ni.iy 
be  ever  loved  and  faithfully  served  as  Our  Lady  and  Our  Queen.     Amen." 

Ask  in  the  country  where  it  stands  to-day,  and  they  will  tell  you  that 
immortal  hands  worked  at  those  walls,  and  that  the  masons  looked  with  awe 
every  morning  at  a  progress  to  which  they  had  not  contributed.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  the  house  was  finished,  and  Jeanne  le  Ber,  gathering  together  her  last 
thirteen  thousand  livres,  founded  therewith  what  we  would  now  call  scholar- 
ships for  girls  who  merited  education,  but  whose  parents  were  too  poor  to 
furnish  the  requisite  means.  And  this  was  the  last  act  of  money-giving 
charity  done  in  honor  of  Our  Lady  of  Angels.  It  was  the  day  after  the 
Feast  of  the  Blessed  Virgin's  Nativity,  September  9,  1717,  that  she  signed 
the  deed  of  this  foundation  ;  twenty-four  days  after,  hope  had  become 
realization. 

On  their  own  festival,  the  2d  of  October,  the  holy  guardian  angels 
came  for  the  pure  soul  of  the  recluse,  and  she  died  in  prayer  and  love  as  she 
had  lived,  resigning  herself  into  the  hands  of  that  blessed  Mother  whom  on 
earth  she  had  served  so  well.  Her  modest  cell  and  work-room  was  religiously 
preserved,  and  the  devout  of  Ville-Marie  loved  to  go  pray  at  her  tomb;  but 
the  cell  with  its  furniture,  the  church  and  the  house  of  the  congregation,  were 
consumed  by  the  fire  of  176S.  When  the  establishment  was  builded  anew,  a 
repository  was  made  on  the  site  of  the  cell,  where  now  remams,  in  His  inef- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  475 

fable  patience,  the  Prisoner  of  Love.  Beside  the  grave  of  the  recluse  stands 
the  miraculous  statue  of  Our  Lady  of  Pity,  gracious  sentinel  over  the  ashes  of 
her  devoted  child. 


ODur  fabij  of  ^Irompt  Succor. 

Far  away  in  the  Southwest,  by  the  banks  of  the  great  river  Mississippi, 
the  Ursuline  nuns,  oldest  of  our  communities  of  consecrated  virgins,  have  for 
nearly  a  century  spread  through  Louisiana  devotion  to  Our  Lady  of  Prompt 
Succor,  which  they  date  back  to  17S5.  When  the  French  Revolution  drove 
the  religious  women  from  their  con\  ent  homes,  a  young  Ursuline  nun.  Mother 
St.  Michael,  as  remarkable  for  her  piety  as  for  talents  and  her  winning  and 
dignified  manners,  laid  aside,  with  a  heavy  heart,  her  religious  habit.  She 
returned  to  her  family,  and  was  once  more  Miss  Frances  Agatha  Gensoul. 
She  had  renounced  all  the  comforts  of  home  to  devote  herself  to  God  and  the 
education  of  youth  in  the  convent  of  Pont-Saint-Esprit,  and  this  was  still  her 
object  in  life. 

As  soon  as  the  worst  fury  of  the  revolutionary  storm  had  spent  itself, 
she  availed  herself  of  the  first  moments  of  calm  afforded  by  a  more  stable 
government  to  follow  her  vocation.  About  1S03  she  opened  a  boarding- 
school  for  young  ladies  at  Montpelier,  to  fulfill  her  duty  as  a  daughter  of  St. 
Angela  de  Merici — that  is,  to  train  girls  to  virtue,  form  their  manners,  and 
inculcate  as  far  as  possible  a  solid  knowledge  and  love  of  religion,  while  imbu- 
ing tlieir  minds  with  the  information  and  acquirements  suited  to  their  age  and 
capacity, 

Madame  GensouTs  school  met  with  such  wonderful  success  that  Mgr. 
Fournier,  bishop  of  Montpelier,  who  was  not  slow  to  recognize  her  admirable 
qualities  and  great  talent,  fixed  upon  her  as  one  fitted  to  revive  as  superior 
the  Ursuline  convent  tiiat  existed  in  his  episcopal  city  before  the  Revolution. 

But  about  the  same  time  Mother  St.  Michael  received  a  letter  from 
Sister  Christine  Madier  de  St.  Andre,  her  cousin,  who  before  the  Revolution 
had  volunteered  to  cross  the  Atlantic  and  aid  the  Ursuline  nuns  in  their 
devoted  labors  at  New  Orleans.  In  the  political  changes  of  Louisiana, 
revolutionary  France  replaced  Catholic  Spain.  Many  of  the  nuns,  alarmed 
at  the  prospect  of  persecution,  retired  to  Havana.  The  handful  of  nuns  left 
in  New  Orleans  were  too  few  to  meet  all  the  duties  requiretl  of  them.  Sister 
St.  Andr6  appealed  to  her  cousin  to  come  with  other  French  Ursulincs  to 


476  TRl.lfS  .-J.YD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

their  aid.  In  France,  community  life  might  long  be  impossible.  Here  was 
a  convent  assured  by  God's  providence  of  peaceful  existence,  under  a  govern- 
ment which  by  its  very  charter  could  not  interfere  with  religious  rights. 

Sister  St.  Andr6  had  reached  America  in  17S5  onl}'  with  great  difficulty. 
She  and  her  sisters  had  been  coldly  received  by  Spanish  officials,  but  they 
were  resolute;  they  bore  all,  endured  all,  confiding  in  the  protection  of  Mary. 
Sister  St.  Andrd  had  once  found  in  the  lumber-room  of  her  French  convent  a 
little  statue  of  our  Blessed  Lady,  holding  on  her  left  arm  the  Divine  Infant 
supporting  the  globe.  Set  up  in  her  room,  this  statue  became  her  shrine  and 
oratory.  Before  it  she  poured  forth  her  prayers.  When  all  seemed  to  com- 
bine to  prevent  her  going  to  Louisiana,  it  was  before  this  statue  that  she 
uttered  her  prayer:  "Good  Mother,  if  you  speedily  remove  the  obstacles  to 
our  departure,  I  will  bear  your  statue  to  New  Orleans;  and  I  promise  to  do 
all  in  my  power  to  have  you  honored  there." 

When  this  relative  in  blood  and  religion,  this  client  of  Mary,  appealed  to 
Mother  St.  Michael,  she  had  begun  to  lose  all  hope  of  seeing  the  Ursulines 
restored  in  France.  Here  was  a  convent  open  to  her,  with  plenty  of  work  to 
do  for  God  and  man — an  academy,  a  day-school,  an  orphan  asylum,  the 
ignorant  to  catechise.  She  felt  that  it  was  a  call  from  God.  Her  spiritual 
director,  when  she  consulted  him,  could  not  decide  for  her.  Bishop  Fournier, 
still  full  of  hope  of  restoring  an  Ursuline  convent,  refused  absolutely  to  con- 
sent to  her  departure  from  his  diocese.  To  all  her  appeals  he  was  obdurate. 
One  day  he  said:  "Only  the  pope  himself  can  permit  you  to  go."  Pope 
Pius  VII  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  N.ipoleon;  for  a  poor,  uncloislered 
nun  to  reach  him  seemed  impossible.  But  Mother  St.  Michael  had  recourse 
to  Our  Lady.  She  drew  up  a  letter  to  the  sovereign  pontiff;  and,  kneeling 
before  a  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  she  promised  that  if  she  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  prompt  and  favorable  answer,  she  would  labor  to  have  her  honored 
at  New  Orleans  under  the  title  of  Our  Lady  of  Prompt  Succor. 

The  world  might  laugh  at  the  good  nun  and  her  faith.  But  her  letter 
reached  the  pope,  and  he  gave  her  full  permission  and  encouragement  to 
follow  the  call  she  had  received.  The  bishop  himself  yielded,  and  blessed  a 
beautiful  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  which  Mother  St.  Michael  had  procured 
to  bear  to  New  Orleans.  On  reaching  that  city,  she  placed  the  statue  in  the 
chapel  of  the  convent;  and  Our  Lady,  invoked  under  the  title  of  Perpetual 
Succor,  became  the  patroness  of  the  house,  and  so  frequently  manifested  her 
powerful   intercession   that  all  the  sisters  had  unbounded  confidence  in  her. 


CATHOLIC  CHVRCIl  IN  AMERICA  477 

The  little  statue  of  Sister  St.  Andre,  wiiicli  was  of  the  same  type,  was  soon 
styled  also  Our  Lady  of  Prompt  Succor. 

Mother  St.  Michael  and  her  companions  infused  new  life  into  the  old 
convent.  The  academy  prospered  and  its  good  works  increased.  Hut  soon 
after  the  convent  was  lighted  up  by  a  conflagration.  New  Orleans  seemed  a 
prey  to  the  flames,  which  came  rolling  on  toward  the  convent,  mocking  all 
luiinMii  efforts  to  control  them.  The  citizens  urged  the  nuns  to  leave  the  con- 
vent, and  preparations  were  made  to  depart  before  it  was  too  late.  But  the 
sisters  invoked  Our  Lady  of  Prompt  Succor;  and  the  aged  nun,  .'^ister  St. 
Antiion\-,  took  the  little  statue  of  St.  Andre  and  placed  it  in  the  window  facing 
the  billowy  tide  of  flame.  Mother  St.  Michael  fell  on  her  knees  and  cried: 
"Our  Lady  of  Prompt  Succor,  we  are  lost  unless  you  come  to  our  succor!" 
She  had  scarcely  spoken  when  the  wind  suddenly  shifted,  the  fire  gradually 
abated,  and  the  convent  was  saved. 

In  a  few  years  the  cloistered  community  were  roused  by  a  new  danger. 
General  Packenham,  with  a  well-equipped  English  army,  led  by  officers  who 
had  coped  with  Napoleon's  veterans,  was  advancing  upon  New  Orleans,  with 
the  cry:  "  Beauty  and  Booty !"  General  Jackson,  with  afar  inferior  force 
of  undisciplined  and  untried  troops,  awaited  the  onset  with  stern-set  face, 
determined  if  defeated  to  give  the  city  to  the  tlames.  New  Orleans  was  full 
of  consternation  and  alarm.  Every  man  able  to  hold  a  weapon  hastened  to 
the  American  lines.  The  Ursulines  set  the  statue  of  Our  Lady  of  Prompt 
Succor  over  the  altar,  and,  kneeling  before  it,  made  the  vow  to  have  a  sol- 
emn Mass  of  thanksgiving  annually,  in  order  to  diffuse  devotion  to  her.  The 
ladies  of  the  city,  and  women  of  all  colors,  gathered  around;  and  Mgr. 
Dubourg,  then  administrator  of  the  diocese,  offered  the  Holy  Sacrifice  to 
implore  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  through  the  intercession  of  Our  Lady  of 
Prompt  Succor,  to  save  the  city  from  the  perils  which  threatened  it.  Just  as 
the  Mass  ended  the  streets  rang  with  exultant  shouts.  The  well-commanded, 
disciplined  army,  with  all  its  superiority  in  iuinibei>,  luul  been  roUetl  back  in 
slaughter  and  defeat.  The  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Dubourg  at  once  into:ied  the  Tc 
Dcum^  which  was  chanted  with  a  grateful  emotion  not  to  be  ilescribeil  in 
words. 

Tlie  Mass  is  annually  offereil  in  liie  Irsuline  chapel,  in  thanksgiving, 
before  the  statue  of  Our  Lady  of  Prompt  Succor;  and  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Assumption  the  little  statue  is  borne  in  triumphant  procession  around  the  con- 
vent, while  the  community  chant  llir  Litany  of  Lorcto  and    the  '■'■Monslra  /<■ 


478  TRIAIS  .f.VO  TRIVMPUS  OF  THE 

esse  inatrcm^''  aiul  the  figure  of  Our  Lady  is  then  borne  baci<   to   the  dormi- 
tory of  the  sisters. 

Recognizing  tlie  signal  interposition  of  Our  Lady  of  Prompt  Succor, 
Bishop  Dubourg,  after  his  consecration,  had  a  picture  of  Our  Lady  of  Prompt 
Succor  engraved,  with  the  title  Protnpta  Auxilialrix,  and  granted  forty  days' 
indulgence  to  all  who  devoutly  recited  an  "Our  Father"  and  a  "  Hail  Mary" 
before  it. 


^n  itlanj's  ©inn  OTttij. 

About  the  autumn  of  171  i,  \'ille-Marie  was  filled  witii  terror  at  the 
report  of  an  English  armament,  twelve  thousand  strong,  on  their  way  from 
Boston  to  the  conquest  of  Canada.  Montreal  and  Quebec,  had  they  been 
together,  had  no  means  of  resisting  even  the  half  of  such  a  force;  and  it  was 
soon  clearly  evident  that,  if  help  there  were,  it  must  be  only  from  the 
hand  of  God.  To  Him,  therefore,  the  Catholic  people  had  recourse.  The 
churches  were  thronged,  the  altars  besieged.  Men  and  women  vied  with 
each  other  in  acts  of  interior  and  exterior  penitence.  And,  at  last,  the 
young  people  who  formed  the  external  Congregation  of  Notre  Dame 
united  in  a  vow  to  the  sacred  Mother  of  God,  that,  if,  b}'  her  powerful 
intercession,  she  would  save  the  town,  which  was  built  in  her  honor  and 
bore  her  gracious  name,  they  would  erect  a  shrine  in  their  gratitude,  in  pcr- 
petitam  rei  me>noria»i,  which  should  bear  the  title  of  Our  Lady  of  \'ictory. 
As  the  time  passed  on,  the  rumors  grew  to  certainty.  The  fleet  was  already 
in  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  advancing  swiftly  towards  the  city.  The  alarm 
reached  even  the  cell  of  Sister  le  Ber.  The  sister  who  carried  her  modest 
provision  to  her,  told  her  that,  if  the  wind  should  hold  favorable,  the  English 
fleet  and  the  ruin  of  Montreal  would  arrive  together,  and  that  in  a  day  or 
two.  But,  after  a  short  silence,  the  recluse  said,  calmly:  "  No,  m}-  sister,  the 
Blessed  Virgin  will  take  care  of  the  country;  she  is  the  guardian  of  Ville- 
Marie,  and  we  have  nothing  to  fear." 

Now  the  people  of  the  good  town  had  great  confidence  in  the  praj'ers  of 
the  holv  recluse,  and  they  trusted  in  God  in  the  midst  of  their  reasonable 
alarm.  Her  cousin,  the  Baron  de  Longueil,  governor  of  the  place,  resolved 
to  attack  the  advancing  fleet  off  Chambley,  and  do  what  he  could  to  keep 
them  from  the  town.  He  could  get  but  a  mere  handful  of  men,  and  his 
hopes  were  entirely  in  the  help  of  their  Blessed  Patroness.     So  a  banner  was 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  479 

prepared,  011  the  center  whereof  they  wrought  a  picture  of  the  Virgin 
Mother,  and  Jeanne  le  Bcr's  cunning  needle  worked  round  the  image  this 
legend:  "Our  enemies  put  all  their  trust  in  arms,  but  we  confide  in  the 
Queen  of  Angels,  whom  we  invoke.  She  is  terrible  as  an  enemy  in  battle 
array,  and  under  her  protection  we  hope  to  vanquish  our  foes."  M.  de  Bel- 
mont blessed  the  standard  before  all  the  populace  in  the  parish  church  of  Our 
Lady.  Then,  bearing  it  in  his  own  hands,  Longueil  set  forth  at  the  head  of 
his  little  troop. 

Their  trust  was  not  in  vain.  Heaven  fought  visibly  for  the  servants  of 
Mary.  As  the  fleet  came  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  abreast  of  Egg  Island,  on  the 
night  of  the  2d  of  September,  a  fierce  northward-careering  gale  smote  them 
suddenly.  Seven  of  the  largest  ships  were  instantly  wrecked,  another  was 
.struck  with  lightning,  and  the  shattered  remnants  of  its  hulk  fiung  sheer  up 
upon  the  yellow  sands.  The  shores  were  covered  with  corpses — nearly  three 
thousand,  say  the  French — aViout  a  thousand,  says  the  accurate  Bancroft.  The 
rest  were  driven  from  the  river,  and  fled  back  to  Boston,  where  their  arrival 
was  followed  by  a  conllagration  that  destroyed  eighty  houses. 

When  solemn  thanksgiving  had  been  rendered  to  the  Most  High  for 
this  signal  deliverance,  the  externes  of  the  congregation  commenced  their 
(■ollection.  The  sisters  gave  a  piece  of  ground  within  their  own  inclosure, 
and  the  chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Victory  raised  its  roof  above  the  dwellings  of 
Montreal.  Pope  Benedict  XIII,  enriched  it  with  privileges  and  indulgences; 
its  patronal  feast  was  the  Nativity  of  Mary;  and,  for  many  a  year,  no  day 
ever  saw  it  unvisited  by  faithful  worshipers  who  came  to  give  thanks  for 
their  preservation.  Burned  with  the  other  buildings,  it  was  reconstructed  in 
1769,  and  became  thenceforward  the  particular  chapel  of  the  externes  of 
Notre  Dame. 

But  the  greatest,  as  it  was  the  first,  treasure  of  the  good  sisters  was, 
and  is,  their  church.  Our  Lady  of  Good  Help,  Notre  Dame  de  Bon  Secours. 
If  you  should  make  a  pilgrimage  to  this  famed  American  shrine — and  a 
more  edifying  devotion  you  will  not  find  on  this  continent — you  will  see  its 
quaint  structure  on  the  hill-side,  fronting  Notre  Dame  Street,  and  overlook- 
ing the  broad,  sail-covered  .St.  Lawrence.  Its  not  ungraceful,  rather  oriental- 
looking  steeple,  with  its  two  open  lanterns,  one  above  the  other;  its  »teei>, 
snow-shedding  roof,  and  old-fashioned  ornamentation  of  tiic  door-w.iy,  will  al 
once  carry  you  back  to  the  date  of  the  Jesuit  martyr  and  the  Indian  missions. 


48o  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Of  course  this,  or  something  like  it,  had  fouml  a  phicc  in  M.  Olier's  saintly 
reveries. 

"  Often,"  he  says,  "  it  comes  into  my  heart  that  God  will,  of  His  grace, 
send  me  to  Montreal,  in  Canada,  where  the  first  chapel  built  to  Him  shall  be 
under  the  title  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  and  I  shall  be  the  chaplain  of  that  Blessea 
Lady."  But  he  was  not  to  see  Canada;  the  work  was  for  Marguerite  Bour- 
geois, and  we  have  seen  her  struggles  to  build  crowned  with  ultimate  success 
in  1675.  The  wish  of  M.  Olier  was  fulfilled  in  the  person  of  his  spiritual 
children,  the  Sulpicians,  for  they  became  the  chaplains  of  Our  Lady  in  Ville- 
Marie.  Father  Souart  headed  a  procession  of  all  the  people  upon  the  feast 
of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul,  and  solemnly  blessed  and  laid  the  corner-stone — 
"  D.  O.  M.  Beatce  Marice  Virgbii  et  sub  titulo  Assitmftionis.  To  God, 
most  good,  most  mighty,  and  to  Blessed  Mary  the  Virgin,  under  the  title  of 
the  Assumption." 

The  walls  rose  swiftly;  a  bell  was  cast  from  a  bronze  cannon  which  had 
been  burst  in  the  Iroquois  War;  the  miraculous  statue  of  Our  Lady  was 
placed  in  a  shrine,  gilt  and  enriched  with  jewels,  and  Bon  Secours  stood  open 
to  the  faithful,  the  first  stone  church  on  the  island.  Then  the  sisters  made 
over  all  their  claim  to  the  parish  church  of  the  city,  retaining  this  privilege 
alone,  the  perpetual  right  to  keep  it  in  repair,  and  to  adorn  it,  "which  we 
offer  to  do,"  they  say,  "  to  render  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  our  Mother,  all  the 
honor  and  service  that  we  can."  This  was  accepted  by  the  Sulpicians,  as 
lords  of  Ville-Marie,  and  the  deed  was  sealed  with  their  famous  seal  for 
Montreal,  which  shows  on  its  intaglio  the  Queen  of  Saints  kneeling  to  receive 
the  Most  Holy  Eucharist  from  the  hands  of  the  beloved  disciple,  with  this 
brief,  eloquent  legend :  "  Virgo  Virginem  virgini  communicat.  A  virgin 
to  a  virgin  gives  a  virgin  in  communion."  And  there,  henceforth,  were  daily 
Masses  said;  and  there,  in  all  distresses  and  calamities,  were  public  proces- 
sions made ;  a  daily  pilgrimage  sprang  up  for  the  citizens,  and  from  the 
remotest  parts  of  settled  Canada  came  others,  for  already  Our  Lady  of  Bon 
Secours  had  become  the  refuge  of  New  France,  and  to  her  protection  was 
attributed  the  success  of  the  infant  colony.  This  was  the  beacon  of  the  boat- 
men on  the  stormy  river,  and  the  remembrance  of  the  trapper  in  the  far-off 
forests.  For  the  sisters  of  the  hospital,  expelled  by  the  fire  of  1734,  it  became 
a  refuge,  a  hospital,  and  a  grave;  for,  almost  coeval  with  the  fire,  an  epidemic 
of  the  most  virulent  kind  broke  forth;  they  had  no  place  but  the  chapel 
wherein  to  lay  their  sick ;  and  it  was  within  its  venerated  walls  that  they  per- 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  481 

formeci  their  oflkes  of  mercy  ;  and  that  eleven  of  them,  smitten  by  the  plague, 
died  there,  and  were  buried  there,  under  the  eyes  of  the  Virgin  of  Good 
Help. 

In  1754  a  great  part  of  the  town  was  burned  again,  and  this  time,  to  the 
horror  of  the  people,  they  beheld  their  beloved  and  venerated  shrine  reduced 
to  ashes.  Nothing  was  saved,  picture  nor  altar  furniture— all  disappeared 
under  the  smoking  ruin;  all  things,  save  one.  Beneath  the  ashes  they  found 
the  little  statue,  not  even  discolored  by  the  fire,  but  in  perfect  preservation. 
Imagine  with  what  joy  it  was  recovered  by  the  sisters  of  the  congregation! 
They  carried  it  with  devotion  to  their  own  church,  and  the  holy  father  was 
pleased  to  transfer  thitlicr  the  many  indulgences  with  which  the  shrine  of 
Bon  Secours  had  been  enriched. 

Many  an  evil  followed  this.  Famine,  and  war,  and  English  conquest, 
with  its  train  of  consequences;  and  the  ashes  grew  black  with  age  over  the 
site  of  the  venerated  shrine,  and  the  rains  beat  upon  them  and  mingled  them 
with  the  soil.  Now  and  then  a  devout  soul  would  say,  amid  the  sorrows  of 
a  conquered  people:  "  Ab,  if  we  only  had  Our  Lady  of  Good  Help  back  in 
her  own  house,  all  would  go  well!"  But  the  people  were  disheartened,  and 
did  nothing  towards  a  reconstruction.  At  last  the  governor  claimed  the  place 
as  waste  land,  and  this  roused  them  from  their  apathy.  Not  that,  at  least ! 
The  land,  and  the  city,  and  the  people  he  might  have;  but  Our  Ladv's  little 
jilat  of  ground!  no,  that,  at  least,  no  governor  should  get  by  any  fault  of 
theirs. 

So,  towards  the  end  of  June,  in  1771,  the  ground  was  cleared  anew;  and 
on  the  anniversary  of  the  first  procession,  a  second,  manifold  as  great,  chant- 
ing litanies  and  hymns,  passed  to  the  spot  to  lay  anew  the  ancient  corner- 
stone. The  new  inscription  tells  the  history  of  the  shrine.  "To  God,  the 
All  Good,  the  Almighty,  and  to  Blessed  Mary  of  Good  Help  under  the  title 
of  the  Assumption,  the  citizens  of  Ville-Marie,  most  devoted  to  the  venera- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  have  restored  this  temple,  !)uilt  at  lirst  in 
1675,  of  narrower  dimensions,  consumed  by  the  flames  in  175.1.,  in  ampler 
form,  this  30th  day  of  June,  1771,  the  same  day  that  the  first  stone  of  the 
ancient  shrine  was  laid." 

It  was  finished  in  1774,  and  so  stands  to-day.  It  is  not  large,  the  nave 
being  seventy  feet  by  forty -six;  the  choir,  thirty-two  by  thirty;  but  it  holds 
the  religious  heart  of  Can.ida. 

Fronting  on   Sherbrooke  street,  a  wall  of  defense  and  two  towers  are 


iSZ  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

still  erect,  to  show  you  where  once  stood  Our  Lady  of  the  Snows.  Formerly, 
surrounded  hy  the  dwellings  of  the  Indian  converts  and  their  instructors  of 
the  "  Mountain  Mission,"  it  stood  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  Royal  Mount. 
The  present  chapel  of  the  name  is  in  the  village  of  Cote  des  Neiges,  hehind 
the  mountain.  Here  follows  the  legend — as  presented  by  Thomas  D'Arcy 
McGee — of 

®ur  Cabij  of  tlje  S'noius. 

If,  pilgrim,  chance  thy  steps  should  lead 
Where  emblem  of  our  holy  creed, 

Canadian  crosses  glow — 
There  you  may  hear  what  here  you  read, 
And  seek,  in  witness  of  the  deed, 

Our  Lady  of  the  Snow! 

In  the  old  times,  when  France  held  sway 
From  the  Balize  to  Hudson's  Bay 

O'er  all  the  forest  free, 
A  noble  Breton  cavalier 
Had  made  his  home  for  many  a  year 

Beside  the  Risers  Three. 

To  tempest  and  to  trouble  proof, 
Rose  in  the  wild  his  glittering  roof, 

To  every  traveler  dear, 
The  Breton  song,  the  Breton  dance, 
The  very  atmosphere  of  France, 

Diffused  a  generous  cheer. 

Strange  sight,  that  on  those  fields  of  snow 
The  genial  vine  of  Gaul  should  grow, 

Despite  the  frigid  sky! 
Strange  power  of  man's  all-conquering  will 
That  here  the  hearty  Frank  can  still 

A  Frenchman  live  and  die! 

The  .Seigneur's  hair  was  ashen  gray, 
But  his  good  heart  held  holiday. 

As  when  in  youthful  pride 
He  bared  his  shining  blade  before 
De  Tracey's  regiment,  on  the  shore 

Which  France  has  glorified. 

Gay  in  the  field,  glad  in  the  hall. 
The  first  at  danger's  frontier  call. 

The  humblest  devotee 
Of  God  and  of  St.  Catharine  dear, 
Was  the  stout  Breton  cavalier 

Beside  the  Rivers  Three. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  483 

When  bleak  December's  chilly  blast 
Fettered  the  flowing  waters  fast, 

And  swept  the  frozen  plain — 
When,  with  a  frightened  cry,  half  heard, 
Far  southward  fled  the  Arctic  bird, 

Proclaiming  winter's  reign — 

His  custom  was,  come  foul,  come  fair, 
For  Christmas  duties  to  repair 

Unto  the  Ville-Maric, 
The  City  of  the  Mount,  which  north 
Of  the  great  river  looketh  forth 

Across  its  sylvan  sea. 

Fast  fell  the  snow,  and  soft  as  sleep. 
The  hillocks  looked  like  frozen  sheep. 

Like  giants  gray  the  hills — 
The  sailing  pine  seemed  canvas  spread, 
With  its  white  burden  overhead. 

And  marble  hard  the  rills. 

A  thick,  dull  light,  where  ray  was  none 
Of  moon,  or  star,  or  cheerful  sun 

Obscurely  showed  the  way — 
While  merrily  upon  the  blast 
The  jingling  horse-bells,  pattering  fast. 

Timed  the  glad  roundelay. 

Swift  eve  came  on,  and  faster  fell 

The  winnowed  storm  on   ridge  and  dell 

Effacing  shape  and  sign  — 
Until  the  scene  grew  blank  at  last, 
As  when  some  seaman  from  the  mast 

Looks  o'er  the  shoreless  brine. 

Nor  marvel  aught  to  find,  ere  long 
In  such  a  scene  the  death  of  song 

Upon  the  bravest  lips — 
The  empty  only  could  be  loud 
When  nature  fronts  us  in  her  shroud. 

Beneath  the  sky's  eclipse. 

Nor  marvel  more  to  find  the  steed. 
Though  famed  for  travel  or  for  speed. 

Drag  on  a  painful  pace — 
With  drooping  crest,  and  faltering  foot. 
And  painful  whine,  the  weary  brute 

Seemed  conscious  of  disgrace. 

Until  he  paused  in  mortal  fear. 
Then  plaintive  sank  upon  the  mere, 

Stiff  as  a  steed  of  stone. 
In  vain  the  master  winds  his  horn — 
None,  save  the  howling  wolves  forlorn. 

Attend  the  dying  roan. 


4^4  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

■Sad  was  the  heart  and  sore  the  plight 
Of  the  benumbed,  bewildered  knight, 

Now  scrambling  through  the  storm, 
At  every  step  he  sank  apace. 
The  death-dew  freezing  on  his  face — 

In  vain  each  loud  alarm. 

Down  on  his  knees  himself  he  cast, 
Deeming  that  hour  to  be  his  last, 

Yet  mindful  of  his  faith — 
He  prayed  St.  Catharine  and  St.  John, 
And  our  dear  Lady  called  upon 

For  grace  of  happy  death. 

When,  lo!  a  light  beneath  the  trees. 
Which  clank  their  brilliants  in  the  breeze, 

And  lo!  a  phantom  fair! 
As  God  is  in  heaven!  by  that  blest  light 
Our  Lady's  self  rose  to  his  sight, 

In  robes  that  spirits  wear! 

Oh!  lovelier,  lovelier  far  than  pen. 
Or  tongue,  or  art,  or  fancy's  ken 

Can  picture,  washer  face — 
Gone  was  the  sorrow  of  the  sword. 
And  the  last  passion  of  our  Lord 

Had  left  no  living  trace. 

As  when  the  moon  across  the  moor 
Points  the  lost  peasant  to  his  door, 

And  glistens  on  his  pane — 
Or  when  along  her  trail  of  light 
Belated  boatmen  steer  at  night, 

A  harbor  to  regain — 

So  the  warm  radiance  from  her  hands 
Unbinds  for  him  death's  icy  bands. 

And  nerves  his  sinking  heart — 
Her  presence  makes  a  perfect  path ; 
Ah!  he  who  such  a  helper  hath. 

May  anywhere  depart. 

All  trembling,  as  she  onward  smiled. 
Followed  that  knight  our  Mother  mild, 

Vowing  a  grateful  vow  ; 
Until,  far  down  the  mountain  gorge. 
She  led    him  to  an  antique  forge. 

Where  her  own  shrine  stands  now. 

If,  pilgrim,  chance  thy  steps  should  lead 
Where,  emblem  of  our  holy  creed, 

Canadian  crosses  glow — 
There  you  may  hear  w  hat  here  you  read, 
And  seek,  in  witness  of  the  deed. 

Our  Ladv  of  the  Snow. 


Cbaptctt  XXIV. 


Oup  Hcauenlv  Patnoncss. 


SIGNIFICANCE  of  the  Santa  Maria.— The  Great  Discoverer's  Devotion  to 
OiR  Lady.— Piety  of  Navigators  and  Explorers.  —  Missionaries  who 
Honored  Marv.— Cities  and  Churches  Named  for  Her.— Mountains,  Lakes 
AND  Rivers.— Charities  and  Hospitals  Inspired  by  Her.— Devotees  of 
Different  Nations.— Extension  and  Prevalence  of  tub  Sentiment. 


HE    little  seaport   town  of  Palos,  in  Andalusia,  lay  basking  in  the 

i^   sun,  and   its   iiaibor  was   crowded   with  swarthy   sight-seers  and 

vocal  with  wondering  tongues.     The  cool  mountain  waters  of  the 

Tinto  brawled  past  the  haven  and   flowed  into  the  broad  Atlantic. 

Out  on  the  burnished  sea  three  caravels  lay  at  anchor. 

The  crowd  had  assembled  to  see  a  set  of  madmen,  as  they 
called  them,  depart  upon  a  hopeless  voyage.  Their  tongues  were  busy 
in  discussing  the  probable  manner  in  which  evil  fate  would  fall  on  the  expe- 
dition, for  no  one  dreamed  of  a  happy  issue  for  the  adventure.  If  any 
dared  to  suggest  such  a  ])robability,  he,  too,  was  hooted  at  as  insane,  and 
ironically  recommended  to  ship  for  the  voyage. 

And,  as  they  disputed  and  sneered,  ever  and  anon  a  strain  of  the  Mass- 
music  would  swell  out  from  the  church,  where  faith  was  kneeling  to  ask  pro- 
tection, where  confidence  was  drawing  new  strength  from  devotion  to  Goil  anil 
Mary.  For  the  adventurers,  their  commander  at  their  head,  were  preparing, 
by  confession  and  Holy  Communion,  to  enter  like  Christian  men  upon  their 
perilous  undertaking. 

485 


486  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Then  the  Mass  was  over,  and  out  from  the  church,  grave,  resolute, 
and  calm,  walked  the  admiral  at  the  head  of  his  crew;  and  the  crowd,  hushed 
into  silence,  opened  a  way  for  the  procession  to  the  jetty. 

A  few  moments  were  allowed  for  farewells.  Then  the  brief  orders 
were  given,  and  the  sailors,  entering  the  boats,  rowed  out  to  their  respective 
vessels. 

Then  the  report  of  the  culverin  sounded  from  the  bows,  and  the  standard 
of  Castile  swung  out  to  the  April  breeze  from  the  peak  of  the  Santa  Maria; 
and  the  crew  cheered,  and  the  crowd  on  shore  responded,  as  the  admiral 
stepped  on  board. 

A  few  moments  more  and  the  anchors  were  weighed,  the  yards  were 
trimmed,  the  sails  filled,  and  the  flotilla  of  Columbus  stood  out  to  sea.  And 
with  it,  as  it  crested  those  pathless  waters,  the  love  and  protection  of  our 
dear  Lady  and  Mother  floated  over  the  Atlantic  to  the  shores  of  America. 

The  first  land  touched  by  the  Christian  admiral  he  called  San  Salvador, 
in  honor  of  the  Son;  the  next,  Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion,  did  reverence 
to  the  Mother. 

It  is  well  nigh  four  hundred  years  since  then,  but  never  has  Mary  for- 
gotten nor  been  forgotten  here ;  but  her  servants  have  labored  to  extend  her 
devotion;  the  faithful  have  responded  with  eager  and  loving  hearts;  her 
powerful  prayers  have  aided  them  in  heaven,  and  now,  from  the  perpetual 
Arctic  snows  to  the  mists  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  ascriptions  of  honor  arise  to 
the  Mother  Immaculate. 

For  devotion  to  Mary  is  in  its  own  nature  a  necessarily  growing  one, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  the  expression  of  our  love  and  reverence  for  her;  and  these 
are  inevitable,  because  of  her  nature,  immaculately  conceived,  as  it  was,  lin- 
gering sixty  sinless  years  on  earth,  and  now  glorified  and  triumphant  in 
heaven. 

Mary  is,  of  all  creatures,  except  the  sacred  Humanity  of  her  Lord  and 
Son,  the  nearest  to  the  heart  of  God;  and  the  love  that  she  gives  us  is,  after 
all,  God's  love,  whereof  she  is  the  channel ;  and  God's  love,  in  His  dealings 
with  us,  never  stands  still,  but  is  evermore  on  the  increase  here,  as  it  will  be 
through  the  rapturous  ages  of  eternity.  But  God  gives  love  in  exchange  for 
love;  He  allows  us  with  our  own  coin,  poor  as  it  is,  to  purchase  treasures  on 
high,  and  so  our  love  necessarily  increases  in  an  humble  kind  of  proportion 
with  His.  Then,  when  He  sends  us  so  much  favor  through  Mary,  we  are 
impelled  to  return  it  through  the  same  blessed  channel;  and  thus  devotion  to 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  l.\'  AMERICA  487 

her  grows  ever,  and  shall  grow,  until  love  shall  be  placed  beyond  the  reach 
of  change  or  decay. 

So,  then,  Mary  has  gained  vast  possessions  in  this  country.  One  day, 
let  us  hope,  she  will  conquer  it  all,  and  anneec  it  all,  loyal  and  devoted,  to  the 
kingdom  of  her  Son.  There  are  peculiarities  in  her  conquests  and  in  her 
sacred  warfare  without  parallel  in  the  victories  of  the  sword.  The  weapons 
of  her  hosts  are  gentleness  and  mercy,  and  weariless  affection ;  self-sacrifice 
and  refusal  of  reward  on  earth;  and,  better  still,  whenever  a  soldier  falls, 
fighting  bravely  in  the  front  rank  for  her  honor,  his  death  only  strengthens 
her  armies,  and  helps  to  insure  the  success  of  her  cause.  From  the  soil  which 
was  enriched  by  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  spring  the  flowers  that  deck  her 
altars  in  the  month  of  May. 

With  the  successors  of  Columbus  came  the  cannon  and  the  sword;  but 
there  came  also  the  cross  and  the  rosary.  There  came  lust  of  dominion,  of 
lands,  of  gold;  cruelty,  bloodshed,  and  the  vices  of  civilization.  But  among 
them,  and  unharmed  by  their  contact,  were  self-sacrifice,  devotion,  zeal  for 
souls,  love  of  God  and  of  man  only  for  God's  sake. 

They  that  took  the  sword  perished  by  the  sword,  and  won  only  blood- 
stained names  as  their  reward.  But  the  warriors  of  Zion  and  of  Carmel  won 
souls  back  to  heaven;  and  if  they  died  in  the  conflict,  the  blood  spoke  louder 
than  their  voices  had  done. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  Vasquez  de  Ayllon,  Narvaez,  De  Soto,  Alvarado,  Coro- 
nado,  with  all  the  power  of  their  arms,  with  all  the  Spanish  and  Indian  gore 
they  shed,  only  gained  the  abhorrence  and  hatred  of  the  natives. 

But  Father  Mark,  the  Franciscan,  armed  only  with  the  crucifix,  pene- 
trated New  Mexico,  in  1539,  and  gained  the  Indians'  love.  Five  other  Fran- 
ciscans took  the  same  path  in  1540;  and  two  of  them,  Father  John  de  Padilla 
and  Brother  John  of  the  Cross,  remained  in  the  country,  and  taught  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ,  until  they  were  slain  in  an  inroad  of  stranger  savages. 
Rodriguez,  Lopez,  Santa  Maria  followed  in  15S0,  and  confirmed  the  Faith  in 
New  Mexico,  from  which  it  has  never  since  departed. 

But  earlier  than  this,  in  1544,  Andrew  de  Olmos  h.id  sought  out  the 
fierce  Texan  tribes,  and  had  converted  many;  and  in  1601,  the  Carmelite 
father,  Andrew  of  the  Assumption  of  the  \'irgin,  with  his  companions,  had 
entered  California,  and  celebrated  the  divine  mysteries  at  Monterey. 

Florida  was  first  baptized  in  the  blood  of  Louis  Cancel,  the  Dominican. 
As  he  stepped  from  his  unarmed  vessel,  alone,  and  knelt  down  upon  the  shore 


4S8  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  Or  THE 

he  was  slain  by  a  blow  from  a  war-club,  and  his  reeking  scalp  was  shaken  in 
derision  before  his  shuddering  brethren  (1544).  To  him  succeeded  many 
others,  to  labor  for  a  while  almost  in  vain,  and  then  to  die  beneath  the  toma- 
hawk or  by  the  arrow.  The  Spaniards  struggled  long  to  make  a  successfu\ 
settlement  at  Pensacola,  but  gave  it  up  for  a  time,  in  1561.  And  when  the 
soldiers  had  departed,  there  lingered  on  the  shore,  alone,  resolved  to  labor  on, 
Father  Salazar  and  Brother  Matthew  of  the  Mother  of  God. 

But  a  few  years  later,  on  the  feast  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
St.  Augustine,  "by  more  than  forty  years  the  oldest  town  in  the  United 
States,"  was  founded,  and  so  soon  as  this  foothold  was  obtained,  the  heroic 
missionaries  poured  in.  Jesuit,  Franciscan,  Dominican,  thronged  in  generous 
rivalry  to  spread  the  gospel  of  the  Highest  throughout  the  new  country. 
They  pierced  the  thick  forests,  they  crossed  the  mountain  ranges,  they  swam 
the  broad  rivers  of  the  South.  They  toiled  with  the  Natchez,  the  Creek, 
and  the  Cherokee;  they  established  missions  in  Carolina  and  Virginia,  and 
they  coasted  the  whole  Atlantic  border  as  far  north  as  the  Chesapeake,  which 
they  called  St.  Mary'j  Bay. 

They  were  martyred,  it  is  true,  by  the  Indiins;  they  died  in  the  wild 
forest  of  starvation  or  fatigue;  but  that  did  not  deter  others  from  following 
in  their  steps;  and  the  first  Europeans  who  dwelt  peaceably  in  these  lands 
were  the  missionary  fathers,  who  claimed  them,  not  for  anv  earthly  power, 
but  for  God  and  St.  Mary  the  Virgin. 

It  is  true  that  they  were  soon  driven  from  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas. 
Shortly  after  the  discovery  of  America,  followed  the  discovery  of  that  sys- 
tem of  rebellion  popularly  known  as  the  Reformation.  The  only  distinctive 
mark  of  this  was,  and  is,  hatred  to  the  Church,  and  whenever  its  adherents 
had  the  power,  it  was  signalized  by  the  destruction  of  religious  establish- 
ments. While  the  most  splendid  monuments  of  religion  and  art  were  falling 
beneath  its  axes  in  Europe,  its  representatives  in  the  New  World,  in  Carolina 
and  Virginia,  banded  with  and  led  on  the  savages  to  the  sack  of  the  humble 
missions,  and  the  slaughter  of  the  devoted  priests  who  served  them. 

No  so-called  Protestant  powers  have  ever  made  their  way  to  any  new 
or  pagan  country — India,  China,  Japan,  or  America — without  finding  Cath- 
olic missionaries  in  possession  before  them;  quia  Domini  est  terra,  "the  earth 
is  the  Lord's."  And  wherever  they  have  been  strong  enough,  they  have 
invariably  overthrown  those  missions  and  re-established  paganism.  Nay,  in 
some   places    they    have    endowed    it;    and    to-day    the   distorted    idols  for 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  j.y  America  489 

India  are  manufactured  liy  the  ton  in  the  cities  of  Christian  England. 
So  the  missions  on  St.  Mary's  Bay  and  in  the  Carolinas  were  destroyed  by 
the  combined  zeal  of  the  Reformer  and  the  Yamassee;  hut  under  the  Cath- 
olic flag  of  Spain,  they  flourished  and  took  root  in  Alabama  and  Florida;  and 
the  summer  sun  of  1693  shone  upon  a  statue  of  the  Mother  of  God,  under 
whose  patronage  and  protection  they  were  founding,  and  successfully,  the 
city  of  Pensacola. 

And  while  these  transactions  were  occurring  in  the  south  and  southwest, 
the  French  missionaries  were  conquering  the  tribes  of  the  north.  From 
Acadia  and  the  St.  Lawrence  the  servants  of  Mary  spread  the  news  of  salva. 
tion.  The  forests  of  Canada  rang  with  the  Salva  Regina;  from  the  birch 
canoes  that  cut  the  azure  waters  of  the  great  lakes  swelled  up  the  Ave  Maris 
Stella.  On  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  Bressani  told  his  beads  in  the  inter- 
vals of  Iroquois  torture.  In  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk  streamed  the  blood 
of  the  martyred  Jogues,  and  whole  districts  of  New  York  Indians  publicly 
renounced  their  idolatries. 

AUouez  and  Dablon  evangelized  the  chill  shores  of  Lake  Superior; 
Marquette  bore  the  cross  down  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Arkansas,  established  the  mission  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  among 
the  Illinois,  and  laid  his  weary  frame  to  rest,  at  last,  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Michigan.  And  so  the  Catholic  embrace  circled  North  America,  extending 
through  pain  and  privation,  through  toil  and  martyrdom,  until  the  Jesuit, 
going  northward  from  Missouri,  and  westward  from  Canada,  completed  the 
sacred  circle  as  they  met  beneath  the  crests  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  on 
the  plains  of  Oregon. 

But  after  all,  this  was  but  Our  Lady's  discovery  of  North  America,  as  it 
were — was  but  a  planting  of  her  standard  and  the  act  of  taking  possession. 
The  battle  was  still  to  be  fought,  the  hostile  tribes  were  to  be  subdued;  re-en- 
forcements of  foes  from  lands  inimical  to  her  cause  were  to  be  expected,  anil 
were  only  to  be  met  b}-  re-enforcements  of  friends  from  lands  that  loved  her. 

Her  conquests  resemble  those  of  the  world  in  this,  that  if  they  are  to 
succeed,  the  officers  must  be  skillful,  fearless,  diligent,  prudent,  unselfish,  and 
prompt;  the  troops  must  be  steadfast,  obedient,  loyal,  and  constant.  If  tiiey 
shall  appear  to  have  been  so,  we  will  understand  how  her  honor  has  increased 
in  the  land;  how,  even  tliirty  years  ago,  seven  hundred  churches  bore  her 
name,  out  of  three  thousand  five  hundred,  in  every  portion  of  the  country, 
how  the  same  sweet  name  was  given  to  river,  lake,  and    mountain   peak   and 


490  TRIALS  AND    TRIUMPHS   01-    THE 

bay,  north,  south,  and  through  the  center,   and   how   more  than  two  million 
voices  chanted  her  praise,  and  proclaimed  her  Lady  and  Protectress. 

The  instruments,  then,  of  the  gracious  will  and  favor  of  God  are  the 
fidelity  of  His  ministers,  the  influx  of  foreign  Catholics,  and  the  winning 
character  of  the  doctrines  and  devotions  of  the  Church. 

The  fidelity  of  the  minister  is  the  main  point,  since  without  this  the 
aborigine  would  retain  his  paganism,  the  emigrant  lose  his  faith,  the  Ameri- 
can remain  unconverted.  He  must  be  faithful  who  would  preach  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  and  so  extend  the  devotion  to  Mary,  for  these  two  go  together.  The 
Mother,  for  all  eternity,  now  is  inseparable  from  her  Son.  When  He  took 
her  pure  flesh  upon  Him  in  time,  it  was  not  only  to  suffer  in  it  here,  but  to  pre- 
serve it  forever  in  heaven.  She  whom  He  called  Mother  here.  He  calls 
Mother  there.  She  has  no  honor  but  His  and  what  she  merits  by  duty  fault- 
lessly performed  to  Him.  Whatever  goes  towards  God's  glory  is  an  honor 
to  Mary ;  whatever  detracts  from  it  or  obstructs  it  is  a  pain  to  Mary.  She 
has  nothing  of  her  own,  yet  she  has  all;  for  she  has  Him,  "  of  whom  and  by 
whom  and  for  whom  are  all " — profter  quern  omnia  et  per  quern  omnia. 

It  is  her  maternity  to  Him  that  explains — that  only  can  explain — the 
Catholic  devotion  to  her.  It  is  because  she  has  Him  for  her  child  that  she 
has  us  for  her  reverers.  She  has  a  right  to  our  veneration,  because  she  bare 
Him  who  has  a  right  to  our  adoration.  It  is  a  common  sentiment  of  our 
nature  to  honor  every  good  mother  for  the  sake  of  her  son ;  it  is  a  sin,  then, 
against  our  regenerate  nature  to  refuse  honor  to  that  best  Mother  of  the  best 
Son.  And  so  it  comes  that  His  ministers  are  her  ministers;  that  fidelity  to 
the  gospel  of  Christ  is  fidelity  to  devotion  for  Mary. 

And  for  this  fidelity  must  her  ministers  be  endowed  with  the  gifts  which 
insure  it,  and  which  are  rendered  necessary  by  the  circumstances  of  their  lives 
as  well  as  for  the  success  of  their  mission. 

They  must  be  prudent  as  serpents,  for  a  thousand  snares  are  daily  laid 
for  their  destruction — yet  prudent  without  selfishness  or  trick;  "be  ye  simple 
as  doves."  They  must  be  brave  in  their  innocence,  for  " I  send  30U  forth  as 
sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves,"  humble,  for  the  poor  in  spirit  have  the  bless- 
ing— yet  in  all  their  personal  humility  they  must  preserve  the  highest  dignity 
and  sacred  character  of  their  office,  since,  "  as  My  Father  hath  sent  me,  even 
so  send  I  you."  Renunciation  of  the  world,  and  separation  from  its  ties  and 
it,  are  necessary,  for  the  "cares  of  this  world  choke  the  word,"  and  the  mar- 
ried man  careth  for  the  things  of  the  world,  how  he  may  please  his  wife. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  491 

The  minister  of  God  and  Mary  must  find  no  obstacle  in  disease,  priva- 
tion, or  poverty,  no  terror  in  death;  for  the  "sufferings  of  the  present  life  are 
not  worthy  to  be  compared  to  the  f^lory  that  shall  be  revealed."  He  must  be 
persevering,  for  only  "to  him  that  ovcrcouieth  will  I  give  to  cat  of  the  tree 
of  Life,  which  is  in  the  paradise  of  my  God."  And  he  must  be  ever  vigilant, 
since  only  that  servant  is  blessed  whom  his  Lord,  when  He  Cometh,  shall 
find  watching. 

And  it  is  precisely  men  of  such  qualifications  whom  it  has  pleased  God 
to  send  out  for  the  evangelization  of  America.  Had  thev  iieen  endowed  with 
less  than  all  this,  the  English  concjuest  of  North  America  would  have  swept 
the  devotion  to  Mary  from  the  land.  Were  they  not  so  endowed  to-day,  devo- 
tion to  Mary  would  jDcrish  before  the  godlessness,  the  indifference  of  the 
world  around  us.  But  they  arc  the  same  in  the  nineteenth  century  as  in  the 
sixteenth;  they  may  differ  externally  in  some  matters,  but  the  interior — the 
intention,  the  purpose — is  the  same,  as  is  the  divine  commission  and  ordination 
which  gives  authority  to  their  labors. 

Monseigncur  Verot  builds  a  church  to-day  on  the  spot  where  Louis  Can- 
cel de  Barbastro  was  martyred  three  hundred  years  ago.  Bishop  Lamy 
renews  among  the  Spaniards  and  Indians  in  1S62  the  fervor  awakened  in  1560 
for  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe.  Where  Jogues  told  his  beads  as  a  preventive 
for  martyrdom,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk,  a  hundred  voices  are  repeating 
the  same  prayers;  and  while  the  circle  of  Mary's  influence  has  been  widened 
till  its  bounds  are  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and  its 
northern  limits  are  the  extreme  Arctic  regions — while  a  bishop  has  his  seat  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  and  another  in  far  Florida,  the  land  named 
for  Palm  Sunday,  and  a  third  rules  in  the  almost  perpetual  winter  of  Hud- 
son's Bay,  and  others  in  the  golden  land  of  California— the  intrepid  mis- 
sionaries are  pushing  the  frontiers  still  further  northward;  and  faithful  serv- 
ants of  Mary  have  filled  and  are  still  filling  the  whole  interior  of  the  country 
with  love  and  reverence  for  her  name. 

While  the  old  missionary  orders,  Jesuit,  and  Sulpitian,  and  Franciscan, 
are  still  energetically  pursuing  their  sacred  conquests  in  Oregon,  among  the 
Esquimaux,  and  the  tribes  of  British  America,  new  orders  have  arisen  espe- 
ciallv  devoted  and  dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  as  the  Marists  and  the 
Oblates  of  Mary  Immaculate. 

These  arc  the  outposts  and  advanced  guards  of  Gotl's  army  in  North 
America;  while,  in  the  interior,  the  secular   and   regular  clergy,  bishop,  and 


492  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

priest,  are  in  the  heat  of  the  fight.  These  have,  perhaps,  even  harder  wori< 
than  the  missionary  to  the  pagan.  We  do  not  say  this  in  a  spirit  of  comparison, 
but  only  in  expression  of  a  feeling  which  we  hold  in  common  with  others, 
and  which  is  this:  That  he  who  is  roaming  through  the  grand  native  forests, 
breasting  the  torrent  in  a  birch  canoe,  setting  a  stout  heart  against  the  inclem- 
encies of  a  wild  nature,  has  the  poetry  and  romance,  the  adventure  and  evci- 
varying  incident  to  inspirit  and  excite  him. 

So  Bancroft,  after  a  tribute  to  the  zeal  of  the  missionary,  says:  "And  yet 
the  simplicity  and  the  freedom  of  life  in  the  wilderness  liad  its  charms.  The 
heart  of  the  missionary  would  swell  with  delight,  as,  under  a  serene  sky,  and 
with  a  mild  temperature,  and  breathing  a  pure  air,  he  moved  over  waters  as 
transparent  as  the  most  limpid  fountain.  Every  encampment  offered  his 
attendants  the  pleasures  of  the  chase.  Like  a  patriarch  he  dwelt  beneath  a 
tent;  and  of  the  land  through  which  he  walked  he  was  its  master,  in  the 
length  of  it  and  in  the  breadth  of  it,  profiting  by  its  productions  without  the 
embarrassment  of  ownership.  How  often  was  the  pillow  of  stones  like  that 
where  Jacob  felt  the  presence  of  God !  How  often  did  the  aged  oak,  whereof 
the  centuries  were  untold,  seem  like  the  tree  of  Mamre,  beneath  which  Abra- 
ham broke  bread  with  angels!  Each  day  gave  the  pilgrim  a  new  site  for 
his  dwelling,  which  the  industry  of  a  few  moments  coidd  erect,  and  for 
which  nature  supplied  a  floor  of  green,  inlaid  with  flowers.  On  every  side 
clustered  beauties  which  art  had  not  spoiled  and  could  not  imitate." 

He  has  the  rough,  hardy  life  of  a  soldier,  and  the  triumph  of  the  dis- 
coverer; and  he  has  to  teach  the  true  God  to  those  who  have  worshiped 
demons.  But  the  priests  in  the  midst  of  a  more  or  less  perfect  civilization  have 
not  this.  Their  fight  is  against  the  vices  of  civilization,  very  unpoetic,  very 
unromantic;  against  the  love  of  money,  the  cheatery  of  trade,  and  permitted 
dishonor  and  dishonesty  of  the  world;  against  the  influence  of  the  drinking- 
shop  and  the  low  gambling-table;  against  the  serpent  of  liberalism  and  god- 
lessness;  against  the  temptations  of  impurity  and  false  doctrine;  against  the 
ever-changing  phases  of  sin  in  individuals;  against  dangers  which  confer  no 
glory,  and  poverty  which  is  not  picturesque.  They  are  in  the  heart  of  the 
army,  in  the  midst  of  tlie  ranks;  they  are  the  unnoticed  fighters,  who  fall,  and 
are  succeeded  by  others  who  fall  in  turn;  who  combat  all  their  lives  to  gain 
one  foot  of  ground,  or,  perhaps,  only  not  to  lose  one  foot;  and  whose  record 
is  only  on  the  page  of  the  book  of  the  great  King  on  high. 

For  them  the  steaming  walls  of  the   hospital  replace   the  dark   green 


CATHOUC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  493 

arching  aisles  of  the  stately'  ini memorial  wood.  For  them  the  rush  and  roar 
of  the  hot  and  narrow  street  must  be  a  substitute  for  the  fresh,  free  leap  of 
the  wild  and  beautiful  river.  The  skulking  convict  and  the  drunkard,  the 
brazen  harlot  and  the  apostate  Catholic,  must  be  their  dark-skinned  warrior 
tribe.  The  idols  they  must  shatter  are  the  human  passions;  the  temples  they 
must  renovate  are  human  hearts. 

It  is  in  this  view  that  we  have  ventured  to  call  their  work  harder;  not  in 
itself,  but  in  its  circumstances;  not  because  more  actual  labor  is  required 
from  one  than  another,  but  because  of  the  lack  of  much  which  can  stimulate 
and  distract. 

And  this  brings  us  to  a  point  which  must  be  carefully  noticed  by  the 
reader.  We  mean  the  difference  between  the  rise  of  devotion  to  the  Blessed 
Mother  of  God  in  this  country  and  in  the  old  Catholic  lantls,  and  the  conse- 
quent difference  between  the  respective  external  manifestations  of  it. 

When  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  Mary  issued  from  Palestine  and  spread 
over  Europe,  it  was  for  the  dethronement  of  false  deities  among  compara- 
tively simple  men ;  for  civilization  then  was  exclusively  Roman  save  here  and 
there  a  little  colony.  Men  received  the  faith,  sooner  or  later,  in  simple, 
earnest  hearts.  Faith  retained  for  many,  many  centuries  a  straightforward- 
ness and  unhesitating  openness  which  has  begun  to  decay  only  within  the  last 
three  hundred  years.  For  the  general  diffusion  of  a  too  thin  and  innutritive 
knowledge  has  unquestionably  injured  the  simplicity  of  faith,  by  increasing, 
notour  wisdom,  but  our  conceit  that  we  are  wise. 

Men  have  been  taught  by  this  to  replace  Faith  with  those  niggardliest  of 
qualities,  suspicion  and  doubt.  State  any  manifestation  of  God's  love  to  man, 
any  individual  and  distinct  mark  of  His  favor  or  providence,  and  for  one 
that  will  say  blessed  be  His  name  for  that,  a  hundred  will  doubt  it,  will  fur- 
nish a  score  of  mean  reasons  against  its  probability,  will  suspect  a  score  of 
honorable  men  of  collusion,  invention,  and  deceit. 

Pantheism — if  that  word  may  be  used  for  want  of  a  better  to  express 
the  generalization  and  depersonalization  of  God — was  not  universally  spread 
as  it  is  now.  If  it  existed,  it  was  in  some  head  which  "  too  much  Ic.irning 
had  made  mad" — some  mind  gone  astray  through  over-esteem  of  its  own 
reasoning  faculties;  and  was  generally  confined  to  a  university  chamber. 

Then  men  believed  in  a  pi-rM)nal  (jo.I  to  whom  the\  were  personally 
accountable;  they  loved  to  receive  His  gifts  and  bcnclils  as  personal  ones; 
they  kuew  nothing  of  these  fine,  new,  universal  humanities  and  confLder.icies 


^.54  TRIALS  AXn  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

of  God;  but  He  was  my  Father  and  my  God  as  well  as  our  Father  and 
our  God.  They  got  closer  to  Ilim  by  this  individualizing,  which  was  yet  in 
no  sense  exclusive.  A  man  received  a  benefit,  not  as  a  general,  universal 
gift — of  the  gratitude  for  which  his  own  share  was  so  small  that  God  would 
not  miss  it  if  it  were  never  paid — but  as  a  benefit  done  to  him,  for  which  all 
his  gratitude  was  too  little. 

And  so  they  had  personal  dealings  with  God;  and  when  He  said  to  the 
beloved  disciple — speaking  from  the  cloud  of  agony  which  overhung  the 
cross — "Son,  behold  thy  mother!"  they  saw  in  that  divinest  boon  a  mother 
for  all  and  each  of  them  ;  a  mother  equally  loving  and  tender  to  each  of  her 
children;  procuring  benefits  for  each  from  her  Divine  Son,  and,  therefore, 
naturally  carrying  back  to  Him  the  thanks  of  each  for  such  benefits. 

Well,  then,  in  a  little  time,  human  thanks  to  God  ran  generally  through 
Mary's  heart  and  lips  as  their  channel,  the  channel  naturally  the  most  agree- 
able to  Him;  and  so  her  name  got  to  be  embroidered  on  the  bright  mantle  of 
the  European  world  as  its  chlefest  decoration.  They  went  to  fight,  and 
begged  her  protection ;  they  came  back  successful  and  they  built  Notre  Dame 
des  Victoires.  They  were  perishing  by  an  epidemic,  and  made  a  novena  to 
her,  and  she  heard  them,  and  their  cathedral  is  dedicated  to  Our  Lady  of 
Help  in  need,  Notre  Dame  de  Bon  Secours. 

Travelers  lighted  on  land  after  storms,  like  the  grand,  heroic  Columbus, 
and  because  in  their  trouble  they  had  begged  help  from  the  gentle  Mother, 
and  thought  that  she  had  heard  them,  they  called  the  new  land  by  her  name. 
A  city  escapes  some  general  desolation ;  they  change  its  name  for  some  title 
of  hers.  A  poor,  pious  man,  attacked  by  highwaymen,  converts  one  by  his 
gentle  discourse,  the  place  is  called  St.  Mary  of  Robbers,  and  some  nineteenth- 
century  literary  skirmisher  will  inform  you  that  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  the 
patroness  of  thieves  in  this  neighborhood. 

In  this  way  Europe  became  covered  with  mementoes,  of  benefits  received 
by  Mary's  intercession,  and,  by  inevitable  naturalness,  they  bear  her  name; 
and,  in  those  days,  remembering  some  kindness  done  by  her  to  some  particu- 
lar town,  and  standing  in  need  of  the  same  kindness  for  himself,  a  man  would 
pray  to  our  Lady  of  Rehbourg,  St.  Mary  of  Challons,  the  Liimaculate  Virgin 
of  Liege.  From  which  circumstance  certain  flatulent  writers  have  deduced 
that  those  Catholics  thought  there  were  many  Blessed  Virgins,  and  that  each 
lived  in  her  own  special  village. 

Hence  the  history  of  the  devotion   to    the  Blessed  Virgin  in    Europe  is 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  495 

simply  a  ramble  through  the  beautiful.  There  is  no  hamlet,  no  burgh  nor 
cily  without  its  consecration,  partial  or  entire,  to  the  dear  Mother  of  God,  and 
for  His  sake  ours.  Europe  is  flooded  with  fact,  and  legend,  and  circum- 
stance; and  he  who  writes  of  the  devotion  there  finds  difliculty,  not  in  discov- 
ering material,  but  in  deciding  amid  the  masses  that  lie  before  him  what  he 
will  accept  and  what  refuse. 

But  with  us,  the  national  antiquities,  so  to  speak,  of  the  Catholic  faith 
must  be  looked  for  only  on  our  bordcis.  The  poetry  of  evangelization  meets 
only  the  Indian  missionary,  the  tradition  of  the  Spaniard  in  the  south,  of  the 
Frenchman  in  the  north.  We  mean,  of  course,  the  published  poetry;  for  the 
hidden,  intrinsic  beauties  of  our  faith  and  our  devotion  are  imperishable  and 
invariable.  We  live,  comparatively  few  in  number,  in  a  land  which,  if  not 
Protestant,  was,  at  least,  anti-Catholic.  No  sacred  processions,  with  vested 
clerics  at  their  head,  yet  sweep  through  our  streets;  no  train  of  pilgrims  winds 
along  the  river-bank  or  through  the  greenwooil  to  a  favored  Lady  Chapel; 
no  sweet  face  of  dear  Mary  Mother  smiles  at  us  as  we  pass  from  wavside 
shrine;  there  is  no  halt  of  business  and  general  baring  of  the  head  for  a 
moment's  communion  with  God,  when  the  angelus  rings  out  from  the 
steeple.  A  few  traditional  observances  may  linger  in  portions  of  the 
United  States  where  the  Spanish  or  French  influence  has  remained  un- 
altered ;  but  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  is  bitterly  hostile  to  any 
outward  manifestation  of  our  love  for  Mary,  because  bitterly  hostile  to  that 
love  itself. 

Pulpit  and  lecture-room,  rostrum,  public  meeting,  and  corner-stone  lay- 
ings, the  press  and  the  bar-room,  re-echo  with  charges  of  idolatry,  of  taking 
from  God  the  honor  which  is  His  due  only,  and  giving  it  to  a  creat\ire;  and 
even  the  gentlest  will  shake  their  heads  and  bewail  with  grave  charity  the 
unfortunate  propensity  of  the  papist  to  give  too  much  honor  to  Mary. 

And  yet,  what  is  our  feeble  love  and  honor  compared  to  that  which  she 
obtains  from  God?  As  our  love  for  our  fellows  is  but  a  shadow  of  Ilis  love 
for  man,  so  our  especial  love  for  Mary  is  but  a  shadow— a  faint,  attenuated 
shadow — of  His  love  for  her.  The  I'^ternal  Father  hath  chosen  her  to  be  the 
Mother  of  His  only  Son;  the  Holy  Spirit  elected  her  His  Spouse.  The  Son 
who  givcth  right-hand  thrones  to  the  apostles  who  preacheil  His  word,  is 
bound  in  justice  to  do  more  for  the  mother  who  bore  Him.  For  His  sake,  if 
you  would  please  Him,  reverence  her;  if  you  believe  in  honoring  y-jr  own 
mother,  believe  that  he   believes  in   honoring  His.     It  is  impossible   for  the 


496  TKI.ILS  AA'D  TRIUMPHS  01'   THE 

Christian  adorer  of    the  Incarnate   God   to  give  Ilis   blessed  Mother   more 
honor,  interior  or  exterior,  than  is  her  due. 

So,  then,  when  we  consider  how  strong  this  feeling  against  devotion  to 
Mary  is;  how  powerful  the  influence  of  the  majority  is,  especially  when  that 
majority  possesses  the  wealth  and  influence  of  the  land;  how  many  tempta- 
tions surround  the  Catholic  here;  how  hard  it  is  to  bear  slight,  misrepresenta- 
tion, and  willful  falsehood;  how  much  easier  it  is  to  deny  having  a  delicate 
and  beloved  sentiment  the  rather  than  to  expose  it  to  the  risk  of  a  sneer;  how 
swift  the  pace  of  the  money-hunter  is  here;  how  little  the  beautiful  in  life 
and  creed  is  cultivated,  and  how  devoted  are  men  to  what  they  arc  pleased  to 
call  the  practical,  and  which  means  simply  more  careful  diligence  for  the  body 
than  for  the  soul,  for  time  than  for  eternity — when  we  consider  all  these,  the 
wonder  is,  not  that  there  is  so  much  or  so  little  devotion  to  Our  Lady,  but 
that  there  is  any  at  all. 

Yet,  in  despite  of  all  this,  we  are  prepared  to  aflirm  that  there  is  no  old 
Catholic  country  in  Europe;  that  there  never  has  been  a  country  in  which 
reverent  love  and  earnest,  heartfelt  devotion  for  the  Blessed  Mother  of  God 
was  more  deeply  rooted,  more  ardently  cherished  or  more  fervently  and 
fruitfully  practiced  than  this  same  North  America.  It  is  unobtrusive,  but  it  is 
real.  It  guides  and  influences  the  hearts  of  men,  and  it  is  fountl,  pure  and 
glowing,  in  the  souls  of  some  who  seem  to  be  the  most  thoughtless  in  society, 
of  some  who  seem  to  be  the  driest  and  most  engrossed  by  affairs. 

It  begins  in  earliest  childhood,  when  the  scapular  and  the  medal  are 
placed  around  the  neck,  to  be  kept  there  ever  afterwards,  even  in  the  grave. 
As  the  child  grows,  he  is  won  into  membership  of  some  Sodality  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  some  Rosary  Society,  some  Confraternity  of  the  Immaculate 
Heart  of  Mary.  The  elders  form  their  benevolent  associations,  and  place 
them  under  the  patronage  of  the  Queen  of  Angels.  Nuns  of  Notre  Dame 
and  of  the  Visitation  train  the  female  children.  Brothers  of  Mary  are  con- 
secrated to  the  education  of  boys.  The  bishop  labors  patiently  till  his  sem- 
inary of  St.  Mary  is  completed;  the  priest  toils  arduously  until  his  parish  of 
the  Annunciation  or  the  Assumption  is  established;  and  all  join  their  prayers, 
their  counsel,  their  money,  their  manual  labor,  their  self-denial  and  renuncia- 
tion, until  the  cross  peeps  through  the  greenwood  from  the  con\ent  of  Mary's 
Help,  and  the  church  of  the  Immaculate  crowns  the  summit  of  the  hill. 

We  close  this  subject,  then,  with  a  short  view  of  the  means  whereby 
this  devotion  has  entered  and  increased  in  this  countrv. 


CATHOLIC  ClllRCll  IX  AM  I- RICA  497 

And  tiibt,  the  Spaniard  brought  it  in  his  heart  as  his  best  treasure  for  a 
new  hfe,  his  best  memento  of  his  own  old  fervent  land.  He  planted  it  in  the 
everglades  of  Florida,  on  the  coasts  of  Alabama;  or  bore  it  with  patient  per- 
severance into  Mexico,  California,  Texas,  and  even  Oregon.  In  the  various 
changes  which  this  country  has  undergone  of  political  rule  and  advancing 
civilization,  the  Iberian  was  driven  from  the  east,  and  made  powerless  in  the 
west,  and  his  faith  grew  lazy,  and  in  sonic  places  almost  disappeared.  Hut 
religious  freedom  fought  its  way  here  into  general  acceptation,  and  now  tiie 
love  of  Mary  is  reappearing,  fresh  and  beautiful,  as  the  resurrection  of  the 
flowers  when  the  winter  has  passed  awa^'. 

Then  the  Frenchman,  above  all,  the  loyal  ;uk!  pious  IJreton,  settled 
Acadia. 

"  W'lien,  in  the  tranquil  evenings  of  summer,  when  brightly  llie  sunset 
Lighted  the  village  street,  and  gilded  the  vanes  on  the  chimneys, 
Matrons  and  maidens  sat  in  snow-white  caps  and  in  kirtles. 

Solemnly  down  the  street  came  the  parish  priest,  and  the  children 
Paused  in  their  play  to  kiss  the  hand  he  extended  to  bless  them. 
Reverend  walked  he  among  tliem,  and  up  rose  matrons  and  maidens. 
Mailing  his  slow  approach  with  words  of  affectionate  welcome. 
Then  came  the  laborers  home  from  the  field,  and  serenely  the  sun  sank 
Down  to  his  rest,  and  twilight  prevailed.     Anon  from  the  belfry 
Slowly  the  angelus  sounded,  and  over  the  roofs  of  the  village 
Columns  of  pale-blue  smoke,  like  clouds  of  incense  ascending, 
Rose  from  a  hundred  hearths,  the  homes  of  peace  and  contentment. 
Thus  dwelt  together  in  love  those  simple  Acadian  farmers — 
Dwelt  in  the  love  of  God  and  man." 

And  thence  they  were  dri\cn  by  the  English,  under  circumstances  of 
barbaric  cruelty,  which  wrung  from  the  very  heart  of  a  Protestant  the  linest 
poem  yet  written  in  America,  and  one  of  the  finest  poems  of  home  and 
domestic  affection  extant  in  any  language.  But  the  good  seed  had  been  blown 
abroad  by  those  brave  northern  winds,  and  the  love  and  the  name  of  Mary  had 
been  carried,  through  the  wild  red  tribes,  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  ami 
missionaries  were  already  sighing  for  permission  to  bear  it  to  the  far  and  yet 
unknown  Mississippi.  And  when,  in  1673,  Father  Marquette  discovered  and 
explored  that  river,  tiie  name  that  he  gave  it  was  "Immaculate  Conception." 

The  Frenchman,  descending  the  Mississippi,  met  the  .Sp.mi.irds  coming 
up  from  Mexico,  through  New  Mexico,  Texas,  Arizona,  and  Arkansas.  And 
yet,  although  it  was  the  forces  of  Great  Britain  which  exterminated  the  mis- 
sions of  Carolina,  and    half  destroyed   those  of  Acadia  and  Canada,  it  was 


498  TRIALS  AND  TRlCMrilS  Of  THE 

reservea  for  that  empire  to  send  forth  a  colony'  which  should  make  the  central 
line  Catholic,  and  give  the  name  of  Mary  to  the  state  fliey  founded. 

With  these  three  points  starts  the  history  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and, 
consequently,  of  the  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Mother  of  God  in  North 
America.  What  missionizing  was  done  went  either  westward  from  Maryland 
or  southward  from  Canada,  the  Jesuits  and  Recollects  reaching  the  Hudson 
and  Mohawk  Rivers,  and  the  state  of  Illinois.  But  little,  however,  was 
accomplished  until  after  the  Revolution,  in  the  interior  of  the  states  east  of  the 
Mississippi.    West  of  that  great  river,  the  whites  were  few  or  none. 

But  the  emigration  began.  More  French  came  into  the  central  states  on 
the  Atlantic,  and  their  religion  was  respected  for  the  sake  of  their  services  to 
the  country,  if  for  nothing  else.  The  Irishman  came,  bearing  from  the  shores 
of  his  sea-girt  isle  the  Faith  which  had  withstood  centuries  of  persecution,  and 
such  a  persecution  as  is  a  phenomenon  in  history,  having  no  parallel  in  the 
annals  of  man's  injustice  to  man.  Vanquished,  enslaved,  starved,  tempted, 
they  clung  to  God  and  St.  Mary  the  Virgin  only  more  closely,  for  all 
attempts  to  sever  them. 

Crushed  down  by  that  preposterous  incubus  called  the  National  church, 
they  remained,  and  still  remain,  devotedly  faithful  to  the  ancient  creed.  We 
do  not  speak  of  the  priest-hunting  and  sanguinary  portions  of  the  persecu- 
tions, for  that  violence  rather  fans  the  flame  of  loyalty;  but  of  that  dead, 
stupid,  crushing  load,  which,  pressing  as  it  did  on  their  very  lives  and  souls, 
needed  a  miracle  of  grace  to  enable  them  to  resist  it  as  they  have  done. 

And  when,  commending  themselves  to  that  dear  Mother  in  heaven,  who 
had  been  their  support  and  consolation,  they  bade  adieu  to  their  home,  they 
brought  to  the  land  of  their  adoption  the  same  unshaken  fidelity  to  their 
religion.  They  spread,  like  bee-swarms,  over  the  land;  their  strong  arms 
hewed  wide  pathways  through  the  forest,  and  cut  the  canals  which  were  the 
life-veins  leading  to  the  country's  heart;  their  hands  laid  the  long, interminable 
lines  of  railway  with  which  the  map  is  covered  as  by  a  spider's  web;  and 
wherever  they  went  they  called  to  them  soggart  aroon,  the  priest  of  their 
love;  and  when  he  came,  the  new  little  church  of  St.  Mary  soon  rose,  and 
the  ancient  Salve  Regina  resounded  beneath  the  heavens  in  a  new  land. 

Then  from  the  Rhine  came  their  brethren,  from  that  "  long  street  of 
cassocks,"  as  Charles  the  Fifth  was  wont  to  call  it,  where  pilgrims  are  seen 
daily  seeking  shrines  of  Our  Lady;  where  the  mile-stones  by  the  road  are 
wayside  niches  for  her  image;  where  her  name  is  the  most  beloved  of  house- 


CATHOLIC  CHI  RCII  /.V  AMERICA  49^ 

hold  words;  where  a  lumchud  poets  chant  ht-r  praises;  where  the  great  schools 
of  modern  art  love  to  reproduce  her  pure,  maternal  face,  and  where  the  very 
Protestant  has  not  learned  to  speak  of  her  with  disrespect,  nor  utterly  to 
empty  his  heart  of  all  love  for  her. 

These  came  to  take  up  a  thousand  minor  necessary  industries  which  were 
too  slow  for  the  swift,  rushing  American ;  to  occupy  small  farms  throughout 
the  interior;  to  teach  the  vineyard  how  to  bloom  upon  the  hill-side.  And 
they,  too,  brought  a  store  of  devotion  to  Mary,  unobtrusive,  little  noticed,  but 
fixed,  steadfast,  patient,  and  indestructible  as  their  own  quiet  character. 
These  parishes  are  generally  the  largest  in  America;  they  retain  the  pleasant 
customs  of  their  fatherland;  they  call  iheir  settlements  Mariastein,  Mariahilf, 
and  they  transmit  to  their  children  their  own  trust  in  and  affection  for  die 
heillgc  Miiltcr   Gottes. 

Thus,  then,  from  north,  south,  and  east,  have  the  armies  of  lilessed  Mary 
marched  into  the  land.  Since  the  year  of  our  Lord  1530,  they  have  advanced, 
at  first  slowly,  and  then  with  rapid  strides.  For  not  only  do  the  foreign 
populations  retain  and  transmit  their  veneration  for  her,  but  countless  con- 
versions are  made  from  heresy,  or  from  the  godlessness  which  is  more 
prevalent  and  dangerous  than  it.  And  how  many  of  these  have  been  caused 
through  affection  for  the  maternity  of  !Mary,  or  by  her  direct  interposition? 
Some  have  been  brought  into  the  true  fold  by  reading  for  the  first  time  the 
story  of  the  Church's  love  for  her;  some  by  wearing  her  medal;  some  by  in- 
voking her  in  time  of  need — "  O  holy  Mary,  conceived  without  sin,  pr.iy  for 
us  sinners  who  have  recourse  to  thee!"  and  some  by  observing  the  devotion  of 
Catholic  friends  to  her,  and  the  beautiful  charities,  the  gentleness,  anil  un- 
selfishness which  are  apt  to  spring  from  that. 

What  wonder,  then,  that  in  her  own  sweet  month  of  May,  the  fathers 
of  the  council  of  1S46  held  in  Baltimore — twenty-two  liishops  with  their 
theologians — should  solemnly  elect  as  Patroness  of  the  United  States  of 
America  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  immaculately  conceived?  The  fathers 
had  been  trained  in  her  honor,  they  had  lived  for  her  service,  they  desired  to 
add  this  crowning  glory  to  their  life-long  prayer  and  praise,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  show  their  zeal  for  the  true  interests  of  this  country,  by  entreating 
her  protection  for  it  in  this  eminent  and  public  way.  The  next  year  this 
election  was  confirmed  by  the  sovereign  pontiff,  and  now  forever  in  the 
grand  public  session  that  closes  these  august  assemblies,  after  the  Tf  Dciim 
has  been  sung,  the  cantors,  richly  coped,  stand  before  the  altar  and  intone  their 


500  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

first  acclamation  to  the  Most  IIi<;li  God.  That  chorused,  they  burst  forth — 
"  Bcatissimie  Virgini  Maria:,  sitie  labe  originali  concepts,  liariim  Provin- 
ciaruni  Patroncc,  honor  ceternus  /" 

And  in  chorus  the  venerable  bishops,  the  theologians,  and  attendant 
priests,  and  the  whole  multitude  of  people,  repeat  the  glad  ascription,  and 
then,  swelling  to  vaulted  roof,  and  filling  aisle  and  nave  and  broad  cathedral 
sanctuary,  rolls  in  deep,  majestic  chorus  the  solemn  Amen!  Amen!  Amen! 


Cbaptetf  XXV. 


Tbc  Flpst  Encslish  IDfssionapy. 


CATHOLICITY  ix  tub  British  Possrssions.  —  Lord  Baltimork's  Colonial 
Scheme.— Career  of  Father  Andrew  White.— The  Voyage  ok  Ark  and 
Dove.— Escape  from  Numerous  Perils.— On  the  Virginian  Shore.— Sailing 
UP  THE  CHF.SAPEAKE.— Among  Kindly  Native  Chiefs.  — The  King  of  the 
Patuxents.  — The  Cavaliers  as  Colonists.  — Cecil  Calvert  as  Gracious 
Governor. 

w-'/y  ||p\  i  1  E  English  colonics  in  America  were  all  settled  after  the  unity  of 
py  Qlllfii  '  ''"  f'''''^  '"  I'-inope  hail  been  broken  by  the  vagaries  of  Luther, 
:i^4>j  Calvin,  Henry  VIII,  and  other  innovators.  Protestants,  thoujjh 
professing  to  advocate  private  judgment,  never  permitted  it;  a<ul 
many  of  the  settlements  in  this  country  were  founded  by  I'rote^t- 
ants  and  others  who  sought  to  escape  from  Protestant  persecution. 
Virginia,  settled  in  1609,  maintained  the  Church  of  England.  English 
separatists,  who  had  first  emigrated  to  Holland,  founded  Plymouth  Colony  in 
1621 ;  and  Puritans  in  1630  began  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  Rhode 
Island  was  founded  soon  after  by  the  zealot  Roger  Williams,  who  had  been 
driven  from  Massachusetts;  and  Connecticut  was  an  offshoot  of  Massachu- 
setts, settled  by  men  of  the  strictest  Puritan  ideas.  All  these  colonies  were 
intensely  Protestant,  and  no  Catholics  entered  them  except  when  sent  over  as 
boniUuieii.  Dutch  Calvinibts.  settled  on  the  Hudson,  Swedish  J.ullierans  on 
the  Delaware,  each  as  much  opposed  to  Catholics  as  their  English  neighbors. 
From  all  this  part  the  true  Church  seemed  to  be  excluded  forever,  and  in  vain 


502 


TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 


do  we  seek  in  it  for  tlie  same  spirit  of  faith  and  chanty,  the  same  desire  of 
extending  to  the  natives  the  benefits  of  Cliristianity  which  had  characterized 
the  settlements  made  by  Catholic  powers. 

The  one  glorious  exception  was  to  be  a  settlement  by  members  of  the 
true  Church  of  God.  Sir  George  Calvert,  who  became  the  first  Lord  Balti- 
more, returning  to  the  faith  of  his  ancestors,  resolved  to  found  a  Catholic 
colony  in  America.  The  Catholics  of  the  British  Isles  clung  almost  as  ten- 
aciously to  their  native  land  as  they  did  to  their  religion.  Still,  unable  openly 
to  profess  the  faith  of  Bcde,  of  Alfred,  of  Edward,  of  Becket,  and  of  Anselm, 
of  thirty  generations  of  their  ancestors,  a  few  resolved  to  emigrate,  and 
occupy  the  territory  of  which  Lord  Baltimore  had  secured  a  grant.  Exiles 
as  they  were  for  conscience  sake,  they  bore  no  revengeful  feeling  to  the 
Anglican  Church,  which  persecuted  as  it  had  robbed  them;  none  to  the 
Calvinistic  party,  which  sought  to  exterminate  them.  They  came,  and  as 
they  came  let  the  broad  Atlantic  wash  out  the  memory  of  their  wrongs;  they 
came  to  found  the  first  state  where  men  could  freely  practice  the  religion  of 
their  choice.  Mindful  of  his  duty  as  a  Christian,  the  Catholic  peer  resolved 
to  send  clergymen  to  his  colony,  and  applied  to  the  superior  of  the  Jesuits 
in  England  for  fathers  of  his  society  "to  attend  the  Catholic  planters  and 
settlers,  and  convert  the  native  Indians."  The  conversion  of  the  heathen,, 
could  not  be  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  least  of  all 
that  of  the  natives  of  a  region  already  watered  with  their  blood.  They  did 
not  refuse  the  call.  Father  Andrew  White,  a  man  who  had  already  suffered 
imprisonment  and  exile  for  the  faith,  was  chosen  to  found  the  new  mission. 
His  associates  were  Father  John  Altham  and  the  lay-brothers  John  Knowles 
and  Thomas  Gervase. 

Meanwhile  Lord  Baltimore  died  while  on  the  point  of  carrying  out  his 
design  of  founding  the  colony.  His  eldest  son,  Cecilius,  the  second  Lord 
Baltimore,  a  good  Catholic,  took  immediate  steps  to  carry  out  the  plans  of  his 
illustrious  father.  He  appointed  his  brother  Leonard  governor,  with  full 
powers  to  establish  the  new  colony.  The  account  of  the  expedition  which 
ensued  will  prove  more  vivid  and  picturesque  as  associated  with  the  priestly 
labors  of  Father  Andrew  White,  S.  J.,  whose  early  career  no  less  deserves  a 
grateful  mention. 

This  famous  missionary  priest  was  born  at  London  in  1579.  The  gifted 
youth  was  forced  to  seek  the  fount  of  knowledge  in  a  foreign  land.  It  was 
a  shameful  period.    Catholic  schools  were  closed  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  503 

and  all  Catholics  were  forbidden  to  teach.  A  reward  of  fifty  dollars  was 
offered  for  the  discovery  of  each  Catholic  school-master. 

But  by  the  zeal  of  the  learned  Catholic  professors  who  had  been  banished 
from  Oxford — and  especially  of  the  famous  Cardinal  Allen — an  English  col- 
lege was  established  in  156S,  at  Douay,  in  France.  For  nearly  two  centuries 
and  a  half  the  Catholic  students  of  the  British  Isles  directed  their  steps  to  this 
renowned  institution.  There  the  flame  of  faith  was  nourished  and  the  light 
of  knowledge  kept  burning  when  all  was  bigotry  and  religious  darkness  in 
the  once  Catholic  land  of  England.  There  were  trained  those  bands  of 
devoted  priests  who  laid  down  their  lives  in  laboring  to  restore  the  true  faith 
among  their  unhappy  countrymen.  There  our  Catholic  Bible  was  translated 
into  English.  There  the  pious  and  learned  Alban  Butler,  author  of  thp 
"  Lives  of  the  Saints,"  received  his  education.  And  there  likewise  the  future 
apostle  of  Maryland  earnestly  labored  and  studied  to  prepare  himself  for  hi» 
high  and  holy  calling. 

Father  White  was  elevated  to  the  sacred  dignity  of  the  priesthood  about 

the  year  1605,  and  was  at  once  sent  to  labor  on  the  London  mission.     But  as 

the  penal  laws  were  rigidly  enforced,  he   had  to  temper   his  zeal    with  the 

greatest  prudence.     Nor  did  this  suffice.     In  spite  of  all  precautions  he  was 

discovered.     Rewards,  varying  according  to  the  rank  of  the    victim,  were 

offered  for  the  discovery  of  Catholic  ecclesiastics.     At  one  period  the   same 

price  was  offered  for  the  head  of  a  priest  and   that  of  a  wolf.     Even  Jews 

came  from  Portugal  to  hunt  down  Catholic  priests  in  the  British   Isles,  and 

found  it  a  profitable  business.     Bribes  were  offered  to  all  who  would  beti  uy 

Catholics. 

"They  bribed  the  flock,  they  bribed  the  son, 
To  sell  the  priest  and  rob  the  sire; 
Their  dogs  were  t.iught  alike  to  run 
Upon  the  scent  of  wolf  and  friar." 

In  short,  the  fierce  Mohawk,  ranging  the  ancient  foiests  of  New  York, 
was  not  more  eager  and  skillful  on  the  trail  of  an  enemy  than  was  the  fanat- 
ical and  barbarous  government  of  England  in  its  search  after  Catholic  priests. 
And  tile  humanity  of  the  American  Indian  compares  quite  favorably  with 
that  of  the  Protestant  Briton.  The  very  year  that  Father  White  returned 
to  England,  the  saintly  poet  and  Jesuit,  Southwell,  was  brutally  tortured  on 
the  rack,  ten  different  times,  and  finally  executed  with  the  most  revolting 
cruelties,  all  because — he  was  a  Catholic  priest! 

We  find  the  name  of  Father  White  in  a  list  of  forty-seven  priests,  who, 


504  TRIALS  /IXD  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

from  different  prisons,  in  1606,  were  sentenced  to  perpetual  banishment.  He 
reached  the  continent;  he  had  hitherto  been  a  secidar  priest,  but  now  sought 
admission  into  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  after  passing  his  novitiate  of  two 
years  at  Louvain,he  obtained  permission  to  return  to  his  native  land — although 
he  was  well  aware  that  for  the  banished  Catholic  priest  who  returned  to  Eng- 
land the  punishment  was  death. 

It  was  a  perilous  mission,  and  the  brave  Jesuit  was  soon  recalled  and 
appointed  professor  in  a  college  of  the  society  at  Seville.  Father  White  was 
a  ripe  and  finished  scholar,  and  at  various  periods  filled  the  chairs  of  Holy 
Scripture,  Hebrew,  and  Theology  in  Spain  and  Belgium.  But  he  was  'now 
(o  pass  from  the  halls  of  science  to  the  wild  woods  of  the  New  World. 

Two  small  vessels  named  the  Ark  and  the  Dove  were  fitted  out  for  the 
Maryland  expedition;  and  about  two  hundred  emigrants,  nearly  all  of  whom 
were  Catholics  and  gentlemen  of  fortune  and  respectability,  prepared  to  cross 
the  Atlantic,  desiring  to  fly  from  the  black  spirit  of  intolerance  which  per- 
vaded England,  and  to  rear  up  their  altars  in  freedom  in  the  wilderness.  To 
Leonard  Calvert,  as  governor,  was  given  command  of  the  expedition.  "It 
was  a  mighty  undertaking,"  says  McSherry,  "standing  out  in  history  as  an 
era  in  the  progress  of  mankind." 

Fortunately,  the  interesting  narrative  of  the  voyage  was  told  by  Father 
White  himself;  and  the  grajihic  picture  has  not  been  lost  to  history  and  liter- 
atnre.  "On  the  22d  of  November,"  he  writes,  "in  the  year  1633,  being  St. 
Cecilia's  da}-,  we  set  sail  from  Cowes,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  with  a  gentle 
east  wind  blowing.  After  committing  the  principal  parts  of  the  ship  to  the 
protection  of  God  especially,  and  of  His  Most  Holy  Mother,  and  St.  Ignatius, 
and  all  the  guardian  angels  of  Maryland,  we  sailed  on  a  little  way  between 
the  two  shores,  and  the  wind  failing  us,  we  stopped  opposite  Yarmouth  castle. 
Here  we  were  received  with  a  cheerful  salute  of  artillery. 

"On  the  23d  of  November,"  he  continues,  "we  sailed  past  a  number  of 
rocks  near  the  end  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  which,  from  their  shape,  are  called 
the  Needles.  These  are  a  terror  to  sailors,  on  account  of  the  double  tide  of 
the  sea,  which  whirls  away  the  ships,  dashing  them  against  the  rocks  on  the 
one  side,  or  the  neighboring  shore  on  the  other. 

"Early  the  next  day  (Monday),  about  nine  o'clock,  we  left  behind  us  the 
western  promontory  of  England  and  the  Scilly  Isles,  and  sailing  easily  on, 
we  directed  our  course  more  towards  the  west,  passing  over  the  British 
Channel.     Yet  we  did  not  hasten  as  much  as  we  could  have  done,  fearing  if 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  505 

we  left  the  pinnace  too  far  behind  us,  that  it  woukl  become  the  prey  of  the 
Turks  and  pirates  who  generally  infest  that  sea. 

"  It  came  to  pass,  that  a  fine  merchant  ship  of  six  hundred  tons,  named 
the  Dragon,  while  on  her  way  to  Angola,  from  Loudon,  overtook  us  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  And  as  we  now  had  time  to  enjoy  a  little 
pleasure,  after  getting  out  of  danger,  it  was  delightful  to  see  these  two  ships, 
with  fair  weather  and  a  favorable  wind,  and  a  great  noise  of  trumpets,  trymg 
for  a  whole  hour  to  outstrip  each  other.  Our  ship  would  have  beaten  tne 
Dragon,  though  we  did  not  use  our  top-sail,  if  we  had  not  been  obliged  to 
stop  on  account  of  the  pinnace,  which  was  slower;  and  so  we  yielded  tne 
palm  to  the  merchant  ship,  and  she  sailed  by  us  before  evening,  and  passea 
out  of  sight. 

♦  On  Sunday,  the  2^  th,  and  Monday,  the  25th  of  November,  we  had 
fair  sailing  all  the  time  until  evening.  But  presently,  the  wind  getting  round 
to  the  north,  such  a  terrible  storm  arose,  that  the  merchant  ship  I  spoke  of, 
from  London,  being  driven  back  on  her  course,  returned  to  England.  Those 
on  board  our  pinnace,  since  she  was  only  a  vessel  of  forty  tons,  began  to  lose 
confidence  in  her  strength,  and  sailing  near,  they  warned  us,  that  if  they 
apprehended  shipwreck  they  would  notify  us  by  hanging  out  lights  from  the 
mast-head.  We  meanwhile  sailed  on  in  our  strong  ship  of  four  hundred  tons. 
A  better  could  not  be  built  of  wood  and  iron. 

"  We  had  a  verj'  skillful  captain,  and  so  he  was  given  his  choice, wiicther 
he  would  return  to  England,  or  keep  on  struggling  with  the  winds.  If  he 
yielded  to  these,  the  Irish  shore  close  by  awaited  us.  It  is  noted  for  its  hid- 
ilen  rocks  and  many  shipwrecks.  But  our  captain's  bold  spirit,  and  his  desire 
to  test  the  strength  of  the  new  ship,  which  he  managed  for  the  first  time, 
triumphed.  He  resolved  to  try  the  sea,  though  he  confessed  that  it  was  the 
more  dangerous  on  account  of  its  being  so  narrow. 

"  The  danger  was  near  at  hand.  The  winds  increased,  the  sea  grew  more 
boisterous,  and  we  could  see  the  pinnace  in  the  distance,  showing  two  lights 
at  her  mast-head.  Then,  indeed,  we  thought  it  was  all  over  with  her, 
and  that  she  was  swallowed  up  in  the  deep  whirlpools.  In  a  moment  she 
passed  out  of  sight.  No  news  of  her  reached  us  for  months  afterwards. 
Accordingly,  we  were  all  of  us  certain  the  pinnace  was  lost;  yet  Go<l  had 
better  things  in  store  for  us,  for  the  fact  was,  that  finding  herself  no  match 
for  the  \iolence  of  the  sea,  she  had  avoided  the  Virginian  Ocean — with  which 
we  were  aireaily   contending — and   returned   to   England.     Making  a  fresh 


506  TRIALS  .lyo  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

start  thence,  she  overtook  us  at  a  large  harbor  in  the  Antilles.  And  thus 
God,  who  oversees  the  smallest  things,  guided,  protected,  and  took  care  of 
the  little  vessel! 

"  We  being  ignorant,  however,  of  her  safety,  were  distressed  with  grief 
and  anxiety,  which  the  gloomy  night,  filled  with  manifold  terrors,  increased. 
When  day  dawned,  although  the  wind  was  against  us,  being  from  the  south- 
west, yet,  as  it  did  not  blow  very  hard,  we  sailed  on  gradually  by  making 
frequent  tacks;  so  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  and  Thursday  passed  with  variable 
winds,  and  we  made  small  progress.  On  Friday  a  southeast  wind  prevailed, 
and  drove  before  it  thick  and  dark  clouds.  Towards  evening  a  dreadful 
tempest  broke  forth;  and  it  seemed  every  minute  as  if  we  would  be  swal- 
lowed up  by  the  waves. 

"  Nor  was  the  weather  more  promising  on  the  next  day,  which  was  the 
festival  of  St.  Andrew,  the  apostle.  The  clouds,  accumulating  in  a  frightful 
manner,  were  fearful  to  behold;  and  excited  the  belief  that  all  the  malicious 
spirits  of  the  storm  and  all  the  evil  genii  of  Maryland  had  come  forth  to 
battle  against  us.  Towards  evening  the  captain  saw  a  sunfish  swimming, 
with  great  efforts,  against  the  course  of  the  sun,  which  is  a  very  sure  sign  of 
a  terrible  storm.     Nor  did  the  omen  prove  false. 

"About  ten  o'clock  at  night,  a  dark  cloud  poured  forth  a  violent  shower. 
Such  a  furious  hurricane  followed  close  upon  it,  that  it  was  necessary  to  run 
with  all  speed  to  take  in  sail;  and  this  could  not  be  done  quickly  enough  to 
prevent  the  main-sail — the  only  one  we  were  carrying — from  being  torn  in 
the  middle  from  top  to  bottom.  A  part  of  it  was  blown  over  into  the  sea, 
and  was  recovered  with  difficulty. 

"  At  this  critical  moment,  the  minds  of  the  bravest  among  us  were 
struck  with  terror.  The  sailors  acknowledged  that  they  had  seen  other  ships 
wrecked  in  a  less  severe  storm;  but  this  hurricane  called  forth  the  prayers  and 
vows  of  the  Catholics  in  honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and  her 
Immaculate  ConcejDtion ;  of  St.  Ignatius,  the  patron  saint  of  Maryland;  St. 
Michael,  and  all  the  guardian  angels  of  the  same  country.  Each  one  hastened 
to  purge  his  soUl  by  the  sacrament  of  penance.  All  control  over  the  rudder 
being  lost,  the  ship  now  drifted  about  like  a  fish  in  the  water,  at  the  mercy 
of  the  winds  and  waves,  until  God  showed  us  a  way  of  safety. 

"  At  first,  I  confess,  I  had  been  engrossed  with  the  apprehension  of  the 
ship's  being  lost,  and  of  losing  my  own  life;  but  after  I  had  spent  some  time 
in  praying   more  fervently   than  was  my  usual  custom,  and  had  set  forth  to 


CATHOLIC  CHl'RCII  IX  AMERICA  507 

Christ  the  Lord,  to  the  Blesseil  Virgin,  St.  Ignatius,  and  the  angels  of  Mary- 
laiui,  that  the  purpose  of  this  journey  was  to  glorify  the  Blood  of  our 
Redeemer  in  tlie  salvation  of  barbarians,  and  also  to  raise  up  a  kingdom  for 
our  Lord — if  He  would  condescend  to  prosper  our  poor  efforts — to  consecrate 
another  gift  to  the  Immaculate  Virgin,  His  Mother,  and  many  things  to  the 
same  effect,  great  comfort  shone  in  upon  my  soul,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
firm  a  conviction  that  we  should  be  delivered,  not  only  from  this  storm,  but 
from  every  other  during  that  voyage,  that  with  me  there  could  be  no  room 
left  for  doubt.  I  had  betaken  myself  to  prayer  when  the  sea  was  raging  at 
its  worst;  and — may  this  be  to  thegloryof  God — I  had  scarcely  finished  when 
they  observed  that  the  storm  was  abating.  That,  in  truth,  brought  me  to  a 
new  frame  of  minil,  and  filled  me,  at  the  same  time,  with  great  joy  and 
admiration,  since  I  understood  much  more  clearly  the  greatness  of  God's  love 
towards  the  people  of  Maryland.  Eternal  praises  to  the  most  sweet  gracious- 
ness  of  the  Redeemer! 

"  After  this  sudden  abatement  of  the  storm,  we  had  delightful  weather 
for  three  months.  The  captain  and  his  men  declared  that  they  had  never 
seen  it  calmer  or  more  pleasant,  for  not  even  for  a  single  hour  did  we  suffer 
any  inconvenience.  When  I  speak  of  three  months,  however,  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  we  were  that  long  at  sea;  but  in  this  I  include  the  whole  voyage, 
and  also  the  time  we  stopped  at  the  Antilles.  The  actual  voyage  occupied 
only  seven  weeks  and  two  days;  and  that  is  considered  a  quick  passage." 

Want  of  space  forbids  us  to  follow  the  venerable  writer  in  his  minute 
and  always  interesting  details  of  the  voyage.  We  can  only  quote  a  passage 
here  and  there.  Safe  from  the  wrath  of  the  elements,  the  Catholic  Pilgrim 
fathers  of  Maryland  did  not  feel  entirely  out  of  danger.  The  Turk  at  that 
time  was  a  bold  fellow,  who  did  not  believe  in  being  cooped  up  in  the  south- 
east of  Europe.  "  We  feared,"  writes  Father  White,  "  that  we  might  meet 
with  the  Turks,  yet  we  fell  in  with  none  of  tiiem.  They  had  gone  home, 
perhaps,  to  celebrate  a  solemn  fast  which  took  place  at  that  season  of  the 
year." 

Sailing  past  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  and  the  Madeiras,  the  Ark  stood 
towards  the  west.  The  appearance  of  three  suspicious. looking  ships,  how- 
ever, caused  some  uneasiness;  for  at  that  time  the  ocean  was  infested  with 
pirates  and  freebooters.  But,  adds  the  narrator,  they  "  either  could  not  over- 
rate us,  or  did  not  wish  to  give  chase."  Such  incidents  kept  the  voyat;c  free 
from  monotony. 


S08  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

"And  here  I  cannot  pass  on,"  continues  the  apostle  of  Maryland,  "  with- 
out praising  the  Divine  goodness,  which  brings  it  to  pass  that  all  things  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God.  For,  if  meeting  with  no  delay,  we 
had  been  allowed  to  sail  at  the  time  we  had  appointed,  namely,  on  the  20th 
of  Augusi,  the  sun  being  on  this  side  of  the  equator,  and  striking  down  ver- 
tically, tne  intense  heat  would  not  only  have  ruined  our  provisions,  but  would 
have  brought  disease  and  death  upon  almost  all  of  us.  We  were  saved  by 
delay,  and  escaped  misfortune  by  embarking  in  the  winter  time.  If  you 
except  the  usual  sea-sickness,  no  one  was  attacked  by  any  disease  until  Christ- 
mas. In  order  that  that  festival  might  be  better  kept,  wine  was  given  out; 
and  those  who  drank  it  too  freely  were  seized  the  next  day  with  a  fever. 
About  twelve  died,  among  whom  were  two  Catholics." 

Father  White  was  a  keen  observer,  and,  it  appears,  nothing  escaped  his 
trained  eye.  "  While  continuing  our  voyage,"  he  writes,  "  we  met  with 
many  curious  things.  I  may  mention  flying  fish,  which  sometimes  swim  in 
the  sea,  and  sometimes  fly  up  in  the  air.  They  are  about  the  size  of  flounders, 
or  tne  larger  gilt-heads,  and  very  much  resemble  these  in  their  delicious 
flavor.  A  huhdred  of  them  rise  up  into  the  air  at  once,  when  flying  from 
the  dolphins  which  pursue  them.  Some  of  them  fell  into  our  ship,  their 
wings  failing  them.  In  one  flight  they  do  not  fly  over  a  greater  space  than 
two  or  three  acres;  and  then,  because  their  fins  become  dried  in  the  air,  they 
plunge  into  the  water  again  and  venture  a  second  time  into  the  air." 

The  voyagers  touched  the  island  of  Barbadoes,  in  the  West  Indies,  on 
the  3d  of  January,  1634.  Here  they  met  with  a  cold  reception.  "  When  we 
reached  this  island,"  observes  Father  White,  "  we  had  hope  of  securing  many 
articles  of  trade  from  the  English  inhabitants,  and  from  the  governor,  who 
was  our  fellow-countryman;  but,  forming  a  combination,  they  determined 
not  to  sell  us  any  wheat  for  less  than  five  times  the  usual  rates.  They  had  no 
beef  or  mutton  at  any  price." 

The  Almighty,  it  seems,  delivered  them  from  another  and  a  greater 
danger.  "  The  servants  over  aU  the  island,"  continued  the  good  Jesuit,  "  had 
conspired  to  kill  their  masters.  On  gaining  liberty  it  was  their  intention  to 
seize  the  first  ship  which  should  touch  there,  and  venture  to  sea.  A  con- 
■»pirator,  frightened  by  the  atrocious  cruelty  of  the  plot,  disclosed  it ;  and  the 
punishment  of  one  of  the  leaders  was  sufficient  for  the  security  of  the  island 
and  our  own  safety.  For  our  ship,  as  being  the  first  to  touch  there,  had  been 
marked  for  their  prey;    and   on   the   very  day  we   landed   we  found  eight 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  l.\'  AMERICA  509 

hundred  wen  in  arms  to  oppose  this  wicked  design,vvhich  had  just  transpired." 
Of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Barbadoes  and  the  natural  products  of  the 
islands,  Father  White  remarks:  "In  winter  the  inhabitants  wear  linen  clothes 
and  bathe  frequently.  .  .  .  The  coarse  cloth  that  serves  them  for  a  bed, 
is  skillfully  woven  out  of  cotton.  When  it  is  bed-time,  they  hang  this  from 
two  posts — one  at  each  end — and  sleep  in  it;  and  in  the  day-time  they  carry 
It  again  wherever  they  choose.     .     .     . 

"  There  is  a  wonderful  kind  of  cabbage,  which  has  a  stalk  that  grows 
one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  high.  It  is  eaten  either  raw  or  boiled.  The 
stalk  itself,  for  a  cubit's  length  below  the  fruit,  is  considered  a  delicacy. 
When  eaten  raw,  with  pepper,  it  excels  the  Spanish  thistle  (artichoke).  And, 
indeed,  it  is  much  like  a  walnut  tree  that  has  been  stripped  of  its  boughs.  The 
immense  stalk  equals  the  size  of  a  very  large  tree.     It  bears  onl}'  one  cabbage. 

"  There  is  also  to  be  seen  there  a  pretty  tall  tree  which  they  call  the 
soap  tree.  The  grains  (or  seeds)  of  soap  are  no  larger  than  hazel  nuts,  and 
they  have  a  thick  membrane.  Though  injurious  to  fine  linen,  they  are  said  to 
purify  and  cleanse  like  soap.  I  carried  some  of  these  seeds  with  me  to  Mary- 
land, and  planted  them,  hoping  for  trees  in  the  future. 

"The  pine-apple  excels  all  the  other  fruits  that  I  have  tasted  anywhere 
else  in  the  world.  It  is  of  a  golden  color,  is  excellent  when  mixed  with  wine, 
and  is  as  large  as  three  or  four  of  the  European  nuts  of  the  same  name.  It 
may,  undoubtedly,  be  called  the  queen  of  fruits.  It  has  a  spicv  taste,  which, 
as  nearly  as  I  can  guess,  is  like  that  of  strawberries  mixed  with  wine  and 
sugar.  It  is  of  great  service  in  preserving  health,  agreeing  so  nicely  with  the 
human  constitution,  that,  although  it  corrodes  iron,  it  strengthens  man  more, 
perhaps,  than  anything  else.  Nor  do  you  find  it  on  a  high  tree.  It  is  a 
single  fruit,  coming  out  in  each  root  like  the  artichoke.  I  wish  I  could  send 
your  paternity  a  specimen  with  this  letter.  For  nothing  but  itself  can  describe 
it  according  to  its  excellence." 

The  cloud  of  sorrow  which  the  supposed  loss  of  the  Dove  and  her  crew 
had  cast  over  the  expedition,  vanished  at  Harbadoes.  Imagine  the  joy  of  those 
on  the  Ark,  as  the  little  vessel  bore  in  sigiit,  and  joined  company  again  after  a 
separation  of  six  weeks.  On  the  night  of  the  terrific  storm  which  parted  thcni, 
the  Dove,  after  having  shown  her  signal,  no  longer  able  to  breast  the  storm, 
had  changed  her  course,  and  taken  refuge  in  tiie  Scilly  Islands,  whence,  the 
ship  Dragon,  bearing  her  company  as  far  as  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  she  sailet.1  in 
pursuit  of  the  Ark,  and  had  now  overtaken  her. 


510  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OP  THE 

"  On  the  24th  of  January,"  continues  the  Relation,  "we  weighed  anchor, 
and  reached  MataUna  towards  evening  on  tlie  following  day.  At  this 
place  two  canoes  full  of  naked  men  appeared.  They  kept  at  a  distance, 
seeming  to  fear  our  huge  ship,  held  up  pumpkins  and  parrots,  and  offered  to 
exchange  them.  These  people  were  a  race  of  savages,  fat,  shining  with  red 
paint,  who  knew  not  God,  and  devoured  human  beings.  Some  time  before 
they  had  made  away  with  several  English  interpreters.  The  country  they 
inhabit  is  very  fertile,  but  is  entirely  covered  with  woods,  having  no  open 
plains.  .  .  .  Some  one,  I  hope,  will  have  compassion  on  this 
forsaken  people. 

"A  rumor  spread  among  the  sailors — started  by  certain  shipwrecked 
Frenchmen — that  an  animal  is  found  on  this  island,  in  the  forehead  of  which 
is  a  stone  of  extraordinary  luster,  like  a  live  coal  or  burning  candle.  This 
animal  they  name  carbunca.  Let  the  author  of  the  story  answer  for  its 
truth." 

Of  the  island  of  Montserrat,  Father  White  says:  "The  inhabitants  are 
Irishmen  who  were  banished  by  the  English  of  Virginia,  on  account  of  their 
professing  the  Catholic  Faith." 

St.  Christopher's  was  the  last  of  the  West  India  Islands  at  which  the 
Pilgrim's  touched.  Here  they  remained  ten  days.  "We  stayed  ten  days," 
writes  the  venerable  Jesuit,  "  having  received  a  friendly  invitation  from  the 
English  governor,  and  two  captains  who  were  Catholics.  The  president  of 
the  French  colony  in  the  same  island  received  me  with  marked  courtesy. 

"All  the  rare  things  that  are  to  be  seen  at  Barbadoes,  I  found  in  this 
place,  too;  and,  besides  these,  a  sulphurous  mountain,  not  far  from  the  gov- 
ernor's residence.  And  what  you  would  admire  more,  the  virgin  plant,  so 
called  because,  at  the  least  touch  of  the  finger,  it  immediately  shrinks  and 
falls  in ;  though,  if  you  give  it  time,  it  revives  and  rises  up  again.  I  was 
especially  pleased  with  the  locust  tree,  which  is  supposed  to  have  afforded 
sustenance  to  St.  John  the  Baptist.  It  equals  the  elm  in  size,  and  is  such  a 
favorite  with  the  bees,  that  they  very  gladly  build  their  cells  in  it.  The 
honey,  if  j'ou  forget  that  it  is  wild,  does  not  differ  in  color  or  flavor  from  the 
purest  honey  I  have  tasted.  The  fruit — also  known  as  locust — consists  of  six 
beans  in  a  prett}'  hard  shell,  like  a  pod,  and  contains  a  meat  which  is  soft  hut 
glutinous,  tasting  like  flour  mixed  with  honey.  It  bears  four  or  five  tolerably 
large  seeds  of  a  chestnut  color.     I  carried  some  of  these  with  me  to  plant." 

Father  White  and   his  companions  now   approached  the  termination  of 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  511 

their  historic  voyage.  On  the  2.jlli  of  February,  the  Ark  and  the  Dove  nearcd 
Point  Comfort,  \'ii<;inia.  Tlic  joyful  sight  of  land,  however,  was  somewhat 
clouded  by  the  fear  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Virginians,  who  were  reso- 
lutely opposed  to  Lord  Baltimore's  undertaking;  but  the  royal  letters  borne 
by  the  newcomers  secured  them  a  favorable  reception  from  the  governor. 
Yet,  in  this  gentleman's  hospitality,  it  seems,  there  was  a  little  selfishness. 
He  "hoped,"  says  the  Relation,  "that  by  this  kindness  towards  us,  he  would 
the  more  easily  recover  from  the  royal  treasury  a  large  sum  of  money  which 
was  due  him." 

"After  being  kindly  treated  for  eight  or  nine  days,"  continues  the  Rela- 
tion, "we  set  sail  on  the  3d  of  March,  and  entering  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  we 
turned  our  course  to  the  north  to  reach  the  Potomac  River.  The  Chesa- 
peake Bay,  ten  leagues  wide,  flows  gently  between  its  shores.  It  is  four, 
five  and  six  fathoms  deep,  and  abounds  in  fish  when  the  season  is  favorable. 
You  could  scarcely  find  a  more  beautiful  body  of  water.  Yet  it  yields  the 
palm  to  the  Potomac  River,  which  we  nantcd  after  St.  Gregory.  ...  A 
larger  or  more  beautiful  river  I  have  never  beheld.  Tl  Thames  seems  a 
mere  rivulet  in  comparison  with  it.  It  is  disfigured  by  no  swamps,  but  h.is 
firm  land  on  each  side.  Fine  groves  of  trees  appear,  not  choked  with  briers 
or  bushes,  and  undergrowth,  but  growing  at  regidar  distances,  as  if  planted 
by  the  hand  of  man.  You  could  drive  a  four-horse  carriage  wherever  you 
might  choose  through  the  midst  of  the  trees. 

"Just  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  we  observed  the  natives  in  arms.  Dur- 
ing the  night  fires  blazed  through  the  whole  country.  As  they  had  never 
seen  such  .1  large  siiip,  messengers  were  sent  in  all  directions  to  report  that  a 
canoe  like  an  island  had  come  on,  with  as  many  men  as  there  were  trees  in 
the  woods! 

We  pushed  on,  however,  to  Herons'  Island,  so  called  from  the  immense 
number  of  these  birds.  The  first  island  we  came  to  we  named  St.  Clement's. 
As  it  has  a  sloping  shore,  there  is  no  way  of  getting  to  it  except  by  wading. 
Here  the  women  who  had  left  the  ship  to  do  the  washing,  upset  the  boat  and 
came  near  being  drowned.  They  also  lost  a  large  portion  of  my  Mnen — no 
small  loss  in  this  part  of  the  world. 

"  On  the  25th  of  March,  the  day- of  the  Annunciation  of  the  Most  Holy 
Virgin,  in  the  year  1634,  we  offered  in  this  island  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass 
for  the  first  time;  for  in  this  region  of  the  globe  it  haJ  never  been  celclimtod 
before.     [This  was  an  error;  but   Father   White  was  not  aware  that  nine 


512  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

Spanish  Jesuits  had  consecrated  that  tciritoi y  with  their  blood,  as  may  be  seen 
in  the  chapter  on  "  Early  Spanish  Missions,"  over  half  a  century  before  his 
arrival.] 

"  The  sacrifice  being  ended,  we  took  upon  our  shoulders  the  great  cross 
whicli  we  had  hewn  from  a  tree,  and  going  to  the  place  that  had  been  desig- 
nated— the  governor,  commissioners,  and  other  Catholics  participating  in  the 
ceremony — we  erected  it  as  a  trophy  to  Christ,  the  Savior,  while  tiie  Litany 
of  the  Holy  Cross  was  chanted  humbly,  on  our  bended  knees,  with  great  emo- 
tion of  soul." 

Here  was  a  real  "cross  in  the  wilderness!"  Indeed,  there  is  something  so 
touching  and  beautiful  in  this  simple  narrative,  that,  in  our  age  of  unbelief 
and  materialism,  we  pause  and  almost  wonder  if  we  are  reading  a  dream  or  a 
reality.  But  it  is  no  dream.  It  is  the  true  history  of  how  the  Catholic  Pil- 
grim fathers  of  Maryland  first  took  possession  of  our  shores.  They  were 
men  proud  of  their  grand  and  ancient  Faith,  and  nobly  preferred  an  altar  in 
the  desert  to  a  coronet  at  the  court  of  apostate  England.  And  yet,  exiles  as 
they  were  for  conscience'  sake,  they  bore  no  revengeful  feeling  to  the  Angli- 
can Church,  which  persecuted  as  it  had  robbed  them;  nonj  to  the  Calvin- 
istic  party,  which  sought  to  exterminate  them.  They  came,  and  as  they 
came  let  the  broad  Atlantic  wash  out  the  memory  of  their  wrongs;  they 
came  to  found  the  first  state  where  men  could  freely  practice  the  religion  of 
their  choice. 

The  colonists  were  delighted  with  their  chosen  home  in  the  wilderness. 
Although  so  early  in  the  season,  the  woods  were  vocal  with  the  songs  of 
many  birds,  the  air  mild  and  balmy  as  June,  and  the  earth  covered  with 
every  variety  of  rich  and  brilliant  wild  flowers.  They  were  grateful  to  God 
for  the  beautiful  land  which  he  had  given  them. 

The  ships  which  brought  these  Catholic  pilgrims  to  Maryland  were  very 
appropriately  named  the  Dove  and  the  Ark — for  they  came  bearhig  the  olive- 
branch  rather  than  the  sword — seeking  to  conciliate  the  Indians  liy  kindness. 
not  to  exterminate  them  by  war.  Protestant  historians  are  obliged  to  acknowl- 
edge that  the  intercourse  of  the  Catholics  of  Maryland  with  the  natives  was 
far  more  blameless  than  that  of  the  Protestants  of  New  England  and  Vir- 
ginia. Maryland  was  the  only  state  which  was  not  stained  with  the  blood  of 
the  Indian.  These  Catholic  colonists  purchased  the  land  wdiich  they  required ; 
they  did  not  obtain  it  by  fraud  and  murder. 

The  Maryland  pilgrims  were  fortunate  in  having  such  a  leader  as  Leonard 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  5,3 

Calvert,  a  man  who  united  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  wisdom,  prudence, 
and  discretion  of  age  with  the  enterprise,  courage,  and  daring  of  youth.  The 
friendship  and  confidence  of  the  Indians,  which  he  soon  won  by  his  kindness, 
he  retained  by  a  strict  fidelity  to  his  contracts,  and  a  faithful  adherence  to  his 
promises.  We  have  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  early  confidence  and  friend- 
ship of  the  Indians.  A  few  days  after  the  landing  of  the  colonists.  Governor 
Calvert  gave  an  entertainment  to  several  of  the  native  chiefs.  Governor 
Harvey,  of  Virginia,  was  also  present.  At  the  feast,  the  king  of  the  Pat- 
uxents,  as  a  special  honor,  was  placed  between  the  governor  of  Maryland 
ftnd  the  governor  of  Virginia.  Before  this  chieftain  returned  home,  he 
made  a  speech  to  the  Indians,  in  which  he  urged  them  to  be  faithful  to  their 
engagements  with  the  English;  and,  in  conclusion,  used  this  extraordinary 
language:  "  I  love  the  English  so  well  that,  if  they  should  go  about  to  kill 
me,  if  I  had  so  much  breath  as  to  speak,  I  would  command  the  people  not  to 
revenge  my  death;  for  I  know  they  would  do  no  such  thing,  except  it  were 
through  my  own  fault." 

Of  all  that  brave  band  of  Catholic  gentlemen  and  Catholic  yeomen  who 
abandoned  their  ancient  homes  in  England  to  establish  in  America  the  glori- 
ous principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  none  are  more  worthy  of  our 
admiration  than  the  two  Jesuit  fathers,  White  and  Altham,who  accompanied 
the  expedition  at  the  request  of  Lord  Baltimore,  "to  attend  the  Catholic 
planters  and  settlers,  and  convert  the  native  Indians."  The  colonists  came  to 
rear  for  themselves  and  for  their  children  homes  in  a  new  and  most  delightful 
land.  They  came,  like  the  children  of  promise,  to  a  land  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey.  Nature  surrounded  their  path  with  fruits  and  flowers.  The 
Indians  received  them  as  beings  of  a  superior  order,  anil  invited  them  10 
share  their  homes  and  their  lands.  Their  present  was  bright,  and  the  future 
promising. 

Those  good  fathers  came,  induced  by  no  such  considerations.  They 
neither  sought  nor  desired  an  earthly  reward.  Burning  with  a  divine  enthu- 
siasm, they  left  their  sweet  and  quiet  cloisters,  to  labor,  and  suffer,  and  die, 
it  might  be,  for  the  salvation  of  poor,  ignorant  and  unknown  savages,  living 
in  another  hemisphere,  ihousanils  of  miles  away.  Chateaubriand,  with  n 
magnificent  burst  of  admiration,  thus  speaks  of  the  Catholic  mission: 

"  Here  is  another  of  those  grand  and  original  ideas  which  belong  exclu- 
sively to  the  Christian  religion.  The  ancient  philosophers  never  oiiitted  the 
enchanting  walks  of  academics  and  the  pleasures  of   Athens  to  go,  under  liie 


514  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

guidance  of  »  sublime  impulse,  to  civilize  the  savage,  to  instruct  the  ignorant, 
to  cure  the  sick,  to  clothe  the  poor,  to  sow  the  seeds  of  peace  and  harmony 
among  hostile  nations;  but  this  is  what  Christians  have  done  and  are  doing 
every  day.  Neither  oceans  nor  tempests,  neither  the  ices  of  the  pole  nor  the 
heat  of  the  tropics,  can  dampen  their  zeal.  They  live  with  the  Esquimaux 
in  his  seal-skin  cabin;  they  subsist  on  train-oil  with  the  Greenlander;  they 
traverse  the  solitude  with  the  Tartar  or  the  Iroquois;  they  mount  the  drome- 
dary of  the  Arab,  or  accompany  the  wandering  Kaffir  in  his  burning  deserts; 
the  Chinese,  the  Japanese,  the  Indians,  have  become  their  converts.  Not  an 
island,  not  a  rock  in  the  ocean,  has  escaped  their  zeal;  and  as,  of  old,  the 
kingdoms  of  the  earth  were  inadequate  to  the  ambition  of  Alexander,  so  rhe 
globe  itself  is  too  contracted  for  their  charily." 


Chapter    XXV!. 


Early  Days  in  fDapyland. 


TRIBES  OF  THE  Potomac  Region.— A  Pascataway  King.— Choosing  thr  Site.— 
PURCHASB  OP  Land  for  St.  Mary's.— Sketchhs  by  Father  White.— Build- 
ing THE  First  Chatel.  —  SuPKRSTiTtoN  Among  The  Natives. —  Missionary 
Toils  and  Successes.  —  .\  Woli'  Entkrs  the  Fold.  —  Claiborne  the  Bigot 
AND  Schemer.  —  Days  ok  Trouble  and  Persecution.  —  Father  White's 
Exile  and  Death.— Oppression  Displaces  Freedom. 


Vj^)  |Br%  H E  conversion  of  the  natives  Vk'as  the  first  thought  of  the  devoted 
English  missionaries.  The  Maryland  tribes  consisted  of  several 
branches  of  the  great  Huron-Iroquois  family,  and,  doubtless,  of 
some  Algonquins,  although  it  is  not  easy  in  all  cases  to  dcciile  to 
which  class  a  tribe  is  to  be  referred.  The  Susquchannas,  or 
Concstogues,  were  the  dominant  tribe;  the  Algonquins  their  allies, 
the  other  tribes  their  enemies  or  victims.  The  chief  of  the  Pascataway 
Indians  was  the  most  powerful  ruler  near  St.  Clement's,  and  had  many 
sachems  and  tribes  subject  to  him.  Leonard  Calvert,  the  governor,  deter- 
mined to  visit  this  loriily  savage,  and  secure  his  friendship.  Taking  with  him 
the  Dove,  he  set  out  with  a  portion  of  his  men,  accompanied  by  Father  Alt- 
ham,  leaving  the  ship  at  anchor  at  St.  Clement's.  As  they  advanced  up  tlic 
river,  the  dusky  inhabitants  fled  towards  the  interior.  At  lenglli  the  priest 
and   the  governor    reached  a  village  on  the  N'irginia  sidi-,  named  roioniac — 

5'5 


5i6  TRIAL6  AXD  TKliMl'H:^  01-   THE 

aftc;  the  river — and  governed  by  Archihii,  uncle  of  tlie  l<ing,  who  was  yet  a 
youth.  Father  Altham  preached  to  the  people  and  their  chiefs.  They 
listened  with  attention,  and  replied  to  him  through  his  interpreter.  The  good 
father  told  them  that  the  pale  faces  had  neither  come  to  make  war  upon  them 
nor  to  do  them  any  wrong;  but  to  instruct  them  in  Christianity,  to  make  them 
acquainted  with  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  and  to  live  with  them  like  brothers. 

"  You  are  welcome,"  replied  the  chief.  Father  Altham  then  informed 
him  that,  as  he  had  not  time  to  make  a  longer  discourse,  he  would  return  to 
visit  him  again.  "  It  is  good,"  said  the  dusky  ruler,  "  we  will  use  one  table. 
My  people  shall  hunt  for  my  brother,  and  all  things  shall  be  in  common 
between  us." 

From  this  place.  Father  Altham  and  Governor  Calvert  went  to  Pascata- 
way,  "where,"  says  the  Relation,  "all  the  inhabitants  flew  to  arms.  About 
five  hundred,  equipped  with  bows,  had  stationed  themselves  on  the  shore  with 
their  king.  But  after  signals  of  peace  were  made,  the  king,  putting  aside  all 
apprehension,  came  on  board  the  pinnace;  and  when  he  heaid  of  our  friendly 
disposition  towards  the  Indians,  he  gave  us  permission  to  dwell  wherever  we 
pleased  in  his  dominions. 

"  In  the  meantime,  while  Governor  Calvert  was  on  this  voyage  with  the 
king,  the  savages  at  St.  Clement's  began  to  grow  bolder,  and  mingled  more 
freely  with  our  sentinels.  For  we  kept  watch  by  day  and  night  to  guard 
from  sudden  attacks  our  men  who  were  cutting  wood,  as  well  as  the  vessel 
which  we  were  building,  having  brought  with  us  the  separate  planks  and  ribs. 
"It is  pleasant  to  hear  these  natives  admiring  everything, especially  wonder- 
ing where  in  the  world  a  tree  had  grown  large  enough  to  be  carved  into  a 
ship  of  such  a  huge  size;  for  they  supposed  it  had  been  cut  from  a  single  trunk 
of  a  tree,  like  an  Indian  canoe.  Our  cannon  filled  them  all  with  astonishment, 
as,  indeed,  they  were  not  a  little  louder  than  their  own  twanging  bows,  and 
sounded  like  thunder." 

The  idea  of  securing  a  fitting  spot  to  begin  the  foundation  of  his  colony 
now  occupied  the  mind  of  Governor  Calvert.  Such  a  place  was  soon  found. 
"  It  is,"  wrote  the  apostle  of  Maryland,  "  a  spot  so  charming  in  its  situation 
that  Europe  itself  can  scarcely  show  one  to  surpass  it.  Going  about  twent}'- 
seven  miles  from  St.  Clement's,  we  sailed  into  the  mouth  of  a  river  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Potomac,  which  we  named  after  St.  George.  This  river — 
or  rather  arm  of  the  sea — runs  from  south  to  north  about  twenty  miles  before 
you  come  to  fresh  water.     At  its  mouth  ai-e  two  harbors  capable  of  containing 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  JX  AMERICA  517 

three  hundred  ships  of  the  largest  size.  One  of  these  we  consecrated 
to  St.  George;  the  other,  which  is  more  inland,  to  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary. 

"  The  left  side  of  the  river  was  the  abode  of  Chief  Yaocomico.  We 
landed  on  the  right-hand  side,  and  going  in  about  a  mile  from  the  shore,  we 
laid  out  the  plan  of  a  city,  naming  it  St.  Mary's.  And,  in  order  to  avoid 
every  appearance  of  injustice,  and  iifford  no  opportunity  of  hostility,  we 
bought  from  the  king  thirty  miles  of  that  laud,  ilelivering  in  exchange,  axes, 
hatchets,  rakes,  and  several  yards  of  cloth. 

"  The  natives,"  continues  the  keen  and  over-observant  Fathci-  White, 
"are  very  tall  and  well  proportioned.  Their  skin  is  naturally  rather  dark, 
and  they  make  it  uglier  by  staining  it.  This  they  generally  do  with  red 
paint  mixed  with  oil,  to  keep  off  mosquitoes,  thinkmg  more  of  their  own  com- 
fort than  of  appearances.  They  also  disfigure  their  countenances  with  colors, 
painting  them  in  many  and  truly  hideous  and  frightful  ways;  either  a  dark 
blue  al)o\e  the  nose,  and  red  below,  or  the  reverse.  And  as  they  live  almost  to 
extreme  old  age  without  having  beards,  they  counterfeit  them  with  paint,  by 
drawing  lines  of  various  colors  from  the  extremities  of  the  lips  to  the  ears. 
They  commonly  have  black  hair,  which  they  carry  bound  in  a  knot  to  the 
left  ear,  and  fasten  with  a  band,  .adding  some  ornament  which  is  in  estimation- 
among  them.  On  their  foreheads  some  of  them  wear  the  figure  of  a  fish 
made  of  copper.  The\-  adorn  their  necks  with  glass  beads,  strung  on  thread 
like  necklaces;  though  these  beads  arc  getting  to  be  less  valued  among  them, 
and  less  useful  for  trade. 

"  For  the  most  part  they  are  clotheil  in  deerskins,  or  some  similar  kind  of 
covering,  which  hangs  down  behind  like  a  cloak.  They  wear  aprons  around 
the  middle,  and  leave  the  rest  of  the  body  naked.  The  boys  ami  girls  go 
about  with  nothing  on  them.  The  soles  of  their  feet  are  as  hard  as  horn,  and 
they  tread  on  thorns  and  briars  without  being  hurt. 

"The  weapons  of  the  Indians  are  bows  and  arrows  three  feet  long, 
tipped  with  stag's  horn,  or  a  white  flint  sharpened  at  the  end.  They  shoot 
these  with  such  skill  that  they  can  stantl  off  and  hit  a  sparrow  in  the  midille; 
and,  in  order  to  become  expert  by  practice,  they  throw  a  spear  in  the  air,  and 
then  send  an  arrow  from  the  liow-string  and  tlrive  it  into  the  spear  before  it 
falls.  But  since  they  do  not  string  the  bow  very  tight,  they  cannot  hit  a 
mark  at  a  great  distance.  By  ineans  of  these  weapons  they  live,  hmiI  go  out 
every  dav  through  the  fields  and  woods  to  hunt  squirrels,  partridges,  turkeys, 


5i8  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

and  wild  animals.  There  is  an  abundance  of  all  these,  though  we  ourselves 
do  not  yet  venture  to  procure  food  by  hunting  for  fear  of  ainbushes. 

"  The  Indians  live  in  houses  built  in  an  oblong  oval  shape.  Light  is 
adniittcd  into  these  through  the  roof,  by  a  window  a  foot  and  a  half  long; 
this  also  serves  to  carry  off  the  smoke,  for  they  kindle  the  fire  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor  and  sleep  around  it.  Their  kings,  however,  and  chief  men  have 
private  apartments,  as  it  were,  of  their  own  and  beds,  made  by  driving  four 
posts  into  the  ground,  and  arranging  poles  above  them  horizontally. 

"  One  of  these  cabins  has  fallen  to  me  and  my  associates,  in  which  we 
are  accommodated  well  enough  for  the  time,  until  larger  dwellings  are  pro- 
vided. You  may  call  this  the  first  chapel  in  Maryland,  though  it  is  fitted  up 
much  more  decently  than  when  the  Indians  lived  in  it. 

"  This  people  are  of  a  frank  and  cheerful  disposition ;  and  understand  any 
matter  correctly  when  it  is  stated  to  them.  They  have  a  keen  sense  of  taste  and 
smell,  and  in  sight,  too,  they  surpass  the  Europeans.  For  the  most  part, 
they  live  on  a  kind  of  paste,  which  they  name  Pone,  and  Omini,  both  of 
which  are  made  of  Indian  corn.  Sometimes  they  add  fish,  or  what  they  have 
procured  by  hunting  and  fowling.  They  are  especially  careful  to  refrain  from 
wine  and  warm  drinks,  and  are  not  easily  persuaded  to  taste  them,  if  we 
except  some  whom  the  English  have  corrupted  with  their  own  vices. 

"  With  respect  to  purity,  I  confess  that  I  have  not  yet  observed,  in  man 
or  woman,  any  act  which  even  savored  of  levity ;  yet  they  are  daily  with  us 
and  among  us,  and  take  pleasure  in  our  society.  They  run  to  us  of  their 
own  accord  with  a  cheerful  expression  on  their  faces,  and  offer  us  what  they 
have  taken  in  hunting  or  fishing.  Sometimes  they  also  bring  us  food,  and 
oysters  boiled  and  roasted;  and  this  they  do  when  invited  in  a  few  words  of 
their  own  language,  which  we  have  contrived  to  learn  by  means  of  signs. 
They  marry  several  wives,  yet  they  keep  inviolate  their  conjugal  faith.  The 
women  present  a  sober,  modest  appearance. 

"  These  Indians  cherish  generous  feelings  towards  all,  and  make  a  return 
for  whatever  kindness  you  may  have  shown  them.  They  resolve  upon  noth. 
ing  rashly  or  while  influenced  by  a  sudden  impulse  of  the  mind,  but  act  with 
deliberation.  When,  at  any  time,  anything  of  importance  is  proposed,  they 
think  over  it  awhile  in  silence;  then  they  speak  briefly  for  or  against  it.  Of 
their  purpose  they  are  very  tenacious.  Surely  these  men,  if  once  imbued 
with  Christian  precepts — and  there  seems  to  be  nothing  opposes  this  except 
our  ignorance  of  the  language  spoken  in   these  parts — will  become  eminent 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  519 

observers  of  virtue  and  huinatiity.  They  are  possessed  with  a  wonderful 
longing  for  civilized  intercourse  with  us,  and  for  European  garments.  And 
they  would  long  ago  have  worn  clothing  if  they  had  not  been  prevented  l)v 
tiie  avarice  of  the  merchants,  who  do  not  exchange  their  cloth  for  anything 
except  beavers.  But  everyone  can  not  get  a  beaver  by  hunting.  God  forbid 
that  we  should  imitate  the  avarice  of  these  men! 

"  On  account  of  our  ignorance  of  their  language,  it  does  not  yet  appear 
what  ideas  the  Indians  have  about  religion.  We  do  not  put  much  confidence 
in  the  Protestant  interpieters;  and  have  rather  hastily  learned  the  following: 

"  They  acknowledge  one  God  of  heaven,  yet  they  pay  him  no  outward 
worship.  But  in  every  way  they  strive  to  please  a  certain  imaginary  spirit 
which  they  call  ochre,  that  he  m.iy  not  hurt  them.  Corn  and  fire,  I  learn, 
they  worship  as  gods  that  are  very  bountiful   to   the    human    race. 

"  Some  of  our  party  report  that  they  saw  the  following  ceremony  in  the 
temple  at  Barchuxem:  On  a  day  appointed,  all  the  men  and  women  of  every 
age  from  several  districts  gathered  together  around  a  large  fire.  The  younger 
ones  stood  nearest  the  fire;  and  behind  them  stood  those  who  were  older. 
Then  they  threw  deer's  fat  on  the  fire,  and  lifting  up  their  hands  towards 
heaven,  and  raising  their  voices,  they  cried  out:     '  Yaho! '  '  Yaho! ' 

"  Room  being  made,  some  one  then  brings  forward  quite  a  large  bag. 
In  it  are  a  pipe  and  a  powder  called  '  potu.'  The  pipe  is  such  a  one  as  is 
used  among  us  for  smoking  tobacco,  but  much  larger.  Around  the  fire  the 
bag  is  carried,  the  boys  and  girls  following  it,  and  singing  alternately,  with 
quite  pleasant  voices,  'Yaho!'  'Yaho!'  Having  completed  the  circuit,  the 
pipe  is  taken  out  of  the  bag,  and  the  powder  calleil  '  potu  '  is  distributed  to 
all  as  they  stand  near.  This  is  then  lighted  in  the  pipe  and  each  one  drawing 
smoke  blows  it  over  the  various  members  of  his  or  her  body  and  thus  conse- 
crates them.  My  informants  were  not  allowed  to  learn  anything  more, 
except  that  the  Indians  seem  to  have  some  knowledge  of  the  deluge  by  which 
the  world  was  destroyed  on  account  of  the  wickedness  of  mankind. 

"  VVe  have  been  here  only  one  month,  and  so  the  remaining  jjarticulars 
must  be  kept  for  the  next  voyage.  But  this  I  may  add:  The  land  seems  to 
be  remarkably  fertile.  In  passing  through  the  very  thick  wooils  we  treuil  at 
every  step  on  strawberries,  vines,  sassafras,  acorns,  and  walnuts.  The  soil  i« 
dark  and  not  hard,  to  the  depth  of  a  foot,  and  overlays  a  rich  red  clay.  Every- 
where there  are  lofty  trees,  except  where  the  land  has  been  cultivated  by  a 
few  persons. 


520 


TKi.lLS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 


"  Numerous  springs  furnish  a  supply  of  water.  No  animals  are  seen 
except  deer,  beavers,  and  squirrels.  The  squirrels  are  as  large  as  the  hares 
of  Europe.  There  is  an  infinite  number  of  birds  of  various  colors,  such  as 
eagles,  cranes,  geese,  ducks,  and  partridges.  From  these  facts  it  is  inferred 
that  the  country  is  not  without  such  things  as  contribute  to  the  prosperity  or 
pleasure  of  those  who  inhabit  it." 

We  must  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  missions,  and  glance  at  the  holy 
and  heroic  labors  of  the  apostle  of  Maryland  and  his  companions.  Father 
White  was  fifty-five  years  of  age  when  he  began  the  gigantic  task  of  toiling 
for  the  conversion  of  the  red-man.  But  nothing  daunted  that  brave  soul. 
With  all  the  ardor  of  youth  he  at  once  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the 
Indian  languages,  in  which  he  found  the  difficulties  much  increased  by  the 
number  of  dialects  used  among  the  various  tribes.  Nearly  every  village  and 
its  surrounding  district  had  a  peculiar  dialect.  Of  the  tribes  then  inhabiting 
Maryland,  the  most  powerful  were  the  Susquehannas,  who  were  subdivided 
into  several  smaller  tribes.  Among  the  latter  the  most  prominent  were  the 
Pascataways  and  the  Patuxents. 

The  gentle  dispositions  of  the  Indians  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  St. 
Mary's,  encouraged  the  Jesuit  fathers  to  entertain  hopes  of  the  conversion  of 
many  of  the  natives  to  Christianit}-.  But,  in  the  second  year  of  the  colony, 
obstacles  to  their  pious  design  were  thrown  in  the  way,  which  prevented 
them  from  extending  their  visits  beyond  the  limits  of  the  settlement.  It  was 
in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1635 — scarcely  twelve  months  after  the  arrival 
of  the  missionaries — that  the  infamous  Captain  Claiborne  succeeded  in 
exciting  the  suspicions  of  the  Indians  against  the  Maryland  colonists  gener- 
ally, and  prejudices  against  their  religion  in  particular.  Apprehensive  of 
hostilities  from  the  natives,  the  colonists,  lay  and  clerical,  prudently  confined 
themselves  to  St.  Mary's  until  the  good-will  of  the  Indians  was  restored.  In 
1635,  a  third  priest  arrived  from  Europe. 

"On  account  of  the  very  many  difficulties,"  wrote  one  of  the  fathers, 
during  this  year,  "  that  present  themselves  in  this  mission,  which  has  been 
lately  started,  there  has  been  thus  far  but  little  fruit  from  it,  especially  among 
the  savages,  whose  language  is  slowly  acquired  by  our  countr3'men,  and  can 
hardly  be  written  at  all.  Employed  here  are  five  associates,  three  priests, 
and  two  assistants,  who,  in  hope  of  future  results,  endure  their  present  toils 
with  great  cheerfulness." 

In  1636,  another  priest  was  added  to  the  small  band  of  apostolic  laborers. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  52, 

Among  the  acts  of  the  general  assembly  held  at  St.  Mary's  in  January, 
1637,  is  the  following,  which  is  given  after  a  long  list  of  names:  "After, 
were  summoned  to  appeare — by  virtue  of  writts  to  them  directed— Mr. 
Thomas  Copley,  Mr.  Andrew  White,  Mr.  John  Altham  of  St.  Mary's 
hundred.  Robert  Clarke,  |,ent.,  appeared  for  them,  and  excused  their 
absence  by  reason  of  sickness." 

The  reader  will  doubtless  be  surprised  to  see  the  apostle  of  Maryland 
simply  styled  "  Mr.  Andrew  White."  But  he  must  remember  that  the  fore- 
going was  written  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Then,  it  would  h.ive  been 
very  far  from  safe  openly  to  recognize  a  Catholic  priest  by  the  title  of 
"Reverend";  and  in  the  Maryland  state  records  we  find  a  prudent  caution 
in  this  respect,  to  avoid  any  public  or  apparent  disregard  of  the  vile  co<le 
then  in  force  in  the  mother  country  against  Catholic  priests,  and  particularly 
the  fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 

Dividing  his  time  between  the  settlers  and  the  Indians,  Father  White 
continued  his  unceasing  toils.  He  not  only  mastered  the  Indian  language, 
but  composed  a  grammar,  dictionary,  and  catechism  in  it.  Gotl  blessed  his 
labors  and  those  of  his  colleagues.  Of  the  Protestants  in  the  colony,  we  learn 
that  many  returned  to  the  Faith  of  their  fathers. 

"Among  the  Protestants,"  writes  one  of  the  missionaries  in  a  letter, 
"nearly  all  who  have  come  from  England,  in  this  year  163S,  and  many 
others,  have  been  converted  to  the  Faith,  together  with  four  servants,  whom 
we  purchased  in  Virginia,  and  five  mechanics  whom  we  hired  for  a  month, 
and  have  in  the  meantime  won  to  God.  Not  long  afterwards,  one  of  these, 
after  being  duly  prepared  for  death,  by  receiving  the  sacraments,  departed 
this  life. 

"A  certain  man,"  continues  the  same  writer,  "entirely  unknown  to  us, 
but  a  zealous  disciple  of  the  Protestant  religion,  was  staying  with  a  friend  who 
was  still  more  zealous;  and  having  been  bitten  by  one  of  the  snakes  which 
abound  in  tiicse  parts,  was  cxj)ecling  immeiliatc  deatii.  One  of  our  fathcPi, 
finding  this  out,  took  with  him  a  surgeon  and  hurried  to  the  sick  man — who, 
it  was  reported,  had  already  lost  his  senses — with  the  intention  of  ministering 
to  his  soul  in  any  way  that  he  could.  But  the  host,  divining  his  intention, 
tried  to  thwart  his  pious  efforts.  The  priest,  however,  .ns  he  could  lintl  no 
other  opportunity,  determined  to  stay  all  night  with  the  sick  man.  Hut  this 
the  host  also  prevented,  and  lest  the  father  shoulil  be  admitted  iit  night, 
he  appointed  a  guard  to  sleep  on  a  bed  laid  across  the  door  of  tlic  chamt>cr 


522  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

occupied  by  his  sick  friend.  Nevertheless,  the  priest  kept  on  the  v/atch  for 
every  opportunity  of  approach.  Going  at  midnight — when  he  supposed  the 
guard  would  be  especially  overcome  by  sleep — he  contrived,  withc.it  disturb- 
ing him,  to  pass  in  to  the  sick  man,  and  at  the  desire  of  the  latter  he  was 
received  into  the  Catholic  Church.  Although,  under  the  circimistances,  it  was 
impossible  that  the  sick  man  should  be  taught  much,  or  be  firmly  established 
in  his  belief,  yet,  when — contrary  to  all  expectation — he  had  been  cured  by 
our  surgeon,  the  grace  of  God  prevailed  with  him.  He  chose  rather  to  be 
put  out  of  his  friend's  house  than  to  retract  wliat  he  had  done;  indeed,  lie 
even  came  to  us  of  his  own  accord,  and  happily  completed  the  work  he  had 
begun. 

"Another  man,  who  was  of  noble  birth,  had  been  reduced  to  such  pov- 
erty by  his  own  unrestrained  licentiousness,  that  he  sold  himself  into  this  col- 
ony. Here,  when  he  had  been  recalled  by  one  of  us  to  the  right  faith  and  the 
fruit  of  good  living,  he  always  anxiously  doubted  whether  he  had  entered  on 
the  safe  road.  On  one  occasion,  when  he  had  intrusted  himself  to  the  sea  in 
a  small  skiff,  and  a  frightful  storm  arose,  such  as  he  had  never  seen — though 
he  had  often  met  with  storms  at  sea — and  certain  shipwreck  stared  him  in  the 
face,  he  earnestl}-  prayed  to  God  that  in  confirmation  of  the  faith  he  had 
lately  received — if  it  were  really  true — He  would  ward  off  the  impending 
danger.  The  Almighty  heard  his  prayer.  The  storm  turned  in  another 
direction,  and  unshaken  conviction  stilled  his  wavering  mind. 

"  Not  long  afterwards  this  man  was  brought  to  the  last  extremity  by  a 
severe  disease.  He  received  all  the  sacraments  about  an  hour  before  his 
death  and  asked  his  Catholic  attendant  to  pray  for  him.  .  .  .  Since  his 
burial  a  very  bright  light  has  often  been  seen  at  night  around  his  tomb,  even 
by  Protestants." 

It  appears  the  spiritual  state  of  the  Maryland  colony  at  this  period  was 
admirable.  "As  for  the  Catholics,"  observes  the  foregoing  writer,  "the  attend- 
ance on  the  sacraments  here  is  so  large,  that  it  is  not  greater  among  the  Euro- 
peans in  proportion  to  the  number  of  Catholics.  The  more  ignorant  have 
been  catechised,  and  catechetical  lectures  have  been  delivered  for  the  more 
advanced  every  Sunday.  On  feast-days  sermons  have  rarely  been  neglected. 
The  sick  and  dying,  who  have  been  very  numerous  this  year,  and  who  dwelt 
far  apart,  we  have  assisted  in  every  way,  so  that  not  even  a  single  one  has 
died  without  the  sacraments.  Very  manv  we  have  buiied,  and  we  have  bap- 
tized various  persons.     And,  although  there  are  not  wanting   frequent  causes 


CATHOLIC  CIWRCII  IX  AM  URIC  A 


523 


of  dissension,  yet  none  of  any  importance  has  arisen  here  in  the  last  nine 
months  which  we  have  not  immediately  allayed.  By  the  blessing  of  God 
we  have  this  consolation — that  no  vices  spring  up  among  the  new  Catholics, 
although  settlements  of  this  kind  are  not  usually  supplied  from  the  best  class 
of  men. 

"  In  Virginia  wc  bought  off  two  Catholics,  who  had  sold  themselves  into 
bondage;  nor  was  the  money  ill-spent,  for  both  showed  themselves  good 
Christians.  One,  indeed,  surpasses  the  ordinary  standard.  Some  others  have 
performed  the  same  duty  of  charity,  buying  thence  Catholic  servants,  who 
are  very  numerous  in  that  country.  There,  every  year,  very  many  sell  them- 
selves into  bondage;  and  living  among  men  of  the  worst  example,  and  being 
destitute  of  all  spiritual  aid,  they  commonly  make  shipwreck  of  their  souls." 

In  the  year  1639,  we  find  Father  White  cheerfully  toiling  away  at  Kit- 
tamaquindi,  an  Indian  town  distant  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  St. 
Mary's.  "  There  are,"  wrote  one  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  in  that  year,  "  in  this 
mission  four  priests  and  one  coadjutor.  All  are  in  places  far  distant — thus 
doubtless  as  they  expect  to  obtain  an  earlier  acquaintance  willi  the  savage 
language,  and  propagate  more  widely  the  sacred  faith  of  the  gospel.  Father 
John  Brock,  the  superior,  with  a  coadjutor  brother,  remains  on  the  plantation. 
Metepawien — which  was  given  us  by  Maquacomen,  the  chief  of  Patuxent — 
is  a  certain  storehouse  of  this  mission,  whence  most  of  our  bodily  supplies 
are  obtained.  Father  Philip  Fisher  lives  in  the  principal  town  of  the  colony, 
to  which  the  name  of  St.  Mary  is  given.  Father  John  Gravener  lives  on 
Kent  Island,  sixty  miles  distant.  Father  Andrew  White  is  still  further  dis- 
tant— one  hundred  and  twenty  miles — at  Kittamacjuindi,  the  capital  of 
Pascatoway.  Since  June,  1639,  he  has  resided  in  the  wigwam  of  the  king 
himself.     He  is  called  Tayac." 

Wiiy  the  venerable  Father  White  went  to  Kittamaquindi  is  thus 
explained,  at  length,  in  the  letter  just  quoted:  "  lie  had  bestowed  much  time 
and  labor  for  the  conversion  of  the  king  of  Patuxcnt,  which,  indeed,  was 
expected  by  us  all,  both  on  account  of  the  recollection  of  kindness  received — 
for,  as  we  have  stated,  he  gave  a  farm  to  the  society — and  because  he  was 
said  to  be  very  powerful  among  the  barbarians,  on  account  of  his  reputation 
for  wisdom  and  influence.  Some  of  the  people  of  this  king  had  connected 
themselves  with  the  fold  of  Christ ;  and  he  himself  appeared  abundantly 
instructed  in  the  first  principles  of  the  faith,  when  to!  unhappy  man,  he  first 
procrastinates,  then  by  degrees  began  to   grow  intliffcrent,  and  lastly,  in  an 


524  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

open  manner,  to  break  off  altogether  from  the  design  he  had  commenced. 
Nor  was  this  all.  He  gave  indications — too  clear  to  be  misunderstood — that 
his  mind  was  entirely  alienated  from  the  who'e  colony.  Then  Governor 
Calvert,  after  prudently  sounding  the  matter,  determined,  by  the  advice  of 
his  friends,  that  the  father  should  be  recalled  from  the  hospitality  of  the  king, 
lest  unexpectedly  the  barbarian  should  give  some  example  of  his  perfidy  and 
cruelty  against  an  innocent  man;  or,  indeed,  lest  this  hostage,  as  it  were,  being 
left  with  the  king,  he  himself  might  be  hindered  from  being  able  to  revenge 
injuries,  if  at  any  time  the  Patuxent  ruler  should  discover  himself  an  enemy. 

"  When  rulers  and  kings  are  spoken  of,  let  no  one  form  in  his  mind  an 
august  idea  of  men,  such  as  of  the  different  princes  in  Europe.  These  Indian 
kings,  though  they  have  the  most  absolute  power  of  life  and  death  over  their 
people,  and  in  certain  prerogatives  of  honor  and  wealth  excel  others,  never- 
theless, in  personal  appearances  they  are  scarcely  anything  removed  from  the 
multitude.  The  only  peculiarity  by  which  you  can  distinguish  a  chief  from 
the  common  people,  is  some  badge.  Sometimes  it  is  a  collar  made  of  a  rude 
jewel,  or  a  belt,  or  oftener  a  cloak  ornamented  with  shells  in  circular  rows. 
The  dominions  of  these  are  commonly  circumscribed  by  the  narrow  confines 
of  a  single  village  and  the  surrounding  country.  Tayac,  however,  rules  over 
a  much  more  extensive  region,  stretching  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles. 
Other  inferior  chieftains  are  also  subject  to  him. 

"  To  Tayac,  Father  White  betook  himself,  and  being  treated  very  kindly 
at  the  first  interview,  so  attached  the  king  to  him,  that  he  was  afterwards 
held  by  him  in  the  greatest  love  and  veneration.  With  the  father  he  shared 
the  hospitality  of  his  own  residence.  Nor  was  the  queen  inferior  to  her 
husband  in  benevolence  to  their  guest.  With  no  less  care  than  labor,  she 
prep.ired  the  meals  with  her  own  hands. 

"  The  cause  of  this  remarkable  affection  for  the  father,  is  to  be  referred 
to  two  dreams — unless  you  deem  it  proper  to  honor  them  with  another  name 
— which  he  had  some  time  previously.  One  of  the  dreams  appeared  to  the 
mind  of  Uwanno,  Tayac's  brother,  who  reigned  before  him,  and  whom  he 
slew.  In  his  sleep  he  seemed  to  see  Father  White  and  Father  Gravener 
before  him,  and  moreover  to  hear  a  voice  saying:  '  These  are  the  men  who 
from  their  souls  love  thee  and  all  thy  tribe.  With  them  they  bring  those 
blessings  by  which,  if  thou  desirest,  thou  canst  be  happy ! ' 

"Hence  so  lively  an  impression  of  these  unknown  men  remained  in  his 
mind  that  even  at  the  first  sight   he  recognized  them  when  coming  to  him, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IX  AMERICA  525 

and  afterwards  embraced  them  with  remarkable  affection.  lie  was  also 
accustomed  to  call  Father  White  his  parent;  and  was  very  desirous  to  com- 
mit the  care  and  instruction  of  his  sons  to  him  for  seven  years.  The  Indians 
are  exceedingly  fond  of  their  children,  and  seldom  let  them  go  from  their 
embraces. 

"The  other  dream,  which  he  is  often  accustomed  to  relate,  occurred  to 
Tayac  in  his  sleep.  He  dreamed  that  his  deceased  father  appeared  before  him, 
accompanied  by  a  god  of  a  black  color,  whom  he  worshiped.  This  god 
besought  Tayac  not  to  desert  him.  At  a  short  distance  there  appeared  a 
very  hideous  demon,  with  a  certain  man  named  Snow,  a  most  obstinate  heretic 
from  En<jland — and,  at  length,  in  another  direction  appeared  Governor  Cal- 
vert and  Fatlicr  White,  the  latter  accompanied  by  a  god  of  indesc  :  le 
beauty,  who  excelled  the  unstained  snow  in  whiteness,  and  seemed  gently  to 
beckon  the  king  to  approach  him.  From  that  time  Tayac  treated  both  the 
governor  and  Father  White  with  the  greatest  affection." 

Soon  after  another  event  happened  which  hastened  the  conversion  of  the 
chief.  He  was  seized  with  a  dangerous  illness.  In  vain  did  forty  medicine 
men  exhaust  their  ingenuity,  their  charms,  and  their  incantations  upon  the 
prostrated  Tayac.  Ordering  them  from  his  presence,  he  implored  Father 
White  to  aid  him.  The  venerable  Jesuit's  knowledge  of  medicine  served 
him  well.  He  bled  the  dusky  chieftain,  administered  what  he  considered 
proper,  and  soon  the  patient  arose  from  his  sick  hammock.  He  asked  to  be 
baptized.  The  missionary  kindly  told  him  that  it  was  necessary  to  be  well 
mstructed  first.  The  eagerness  of  this  lordly  son  of  the  forest  to  master  the 
truths  of  Christianity  was  indeed  truly  admirable.  Himself,  his  wife,  and 
his  family  daily  listened  to  the  instructions  of  the  aged  minister.  Besides 
he  no  longer  clothed  himself  in  skins,  but  assumed  the  dress  of  the  whites. 

"The  king,"  observes  the  letter  of  1639,  "  has  exchanged  the  skins  with 
which  he  was  heretofore  clothed  for  garments  made  in  our  fashion.  He  also 
makes  a  little  endeavor  to  learn  our  language.  .  .  .  He  abstains  from  meat 
on  the  days  which  it  is  forbidden  by  the  Christian  laws;  and  men  that  are 
heretics  and  do  otherwise,  he  thinks  ought  to  be  called  bad  Christians.  He 
is  greatly  delighted  with  spiritual  conversation,  and,  indeed,  seems  to  esteem 
earthly  wealth  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  treasures  of  heaven,  as  he 
told  Governor  Calvert.  The  latter  was  explaining  to  him  what  great  advan- 
tages could  be  enjoyed  from  the  English  by  a  mutual  exchange  of  wares, 
when  the  chief  remarked — '  In   truth,   I    consider  these  trilling,   when  com- 


526  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

pared  with  this  one  advantage,  that  through  these  missionaries  I  have  arrived 
at  the  knowledge  of  the  one  true  God.  To  me  there  is  nothing  among  you 
greater  than  this;  nor  ought  there  to  be  anything  greater." 

Tayac's  anxiety  for  the  conversion  of  his  whole  tribe  was  only  equaled 
by  his  desire  to  be  received  into  the  Ciiurch.  Convinced  himself,  he  wished 
to  make  the  truth  known  to  others.  The  red  ruler  assembled  his  chiefs  and 
people,  and  in  an  eloquent  appeal  told  them  that  childish  superstition  had 
reigned  too  long  in  the  wigwams  of  the  Pascatoways.  There  was  but  one 
God,  and  He  alone  was  worthy  of  the  homage  of  brave  men.  He  was  the 
creator  of  all  things.  He  was  the  Great  Spirit  worshiped  by  the  black  gowns. 
The  stones  and  the  objects  adored  by  the  Indians  were  but  the  humble  works 
of  His  hands.  And  to  show  his  contempt  for  their  former  idols,  Tayac  took 
one  and  tossed  it  with  his  foot.  His  words  impressed  them  deeply.  At  his 
suggestion,  they  became  more  modest  in  dress,  and  Tayac  renounced  all  but 
one  wife.  So  thoroughly  was  the  chief  imbued  with  a  sense  of  the  impor- 
tance of  Christianity  that  in  another  general  council  of  his  tribe,  when  several 
of  the  settlers  were  present,  he  avowed  his  determination,  and  that  of  his 
family,  to  renounce  their  ancient  superstitions,  and  pay  homage  to  Christ, 
declaring  that  there  was  no  true  God  but  that  of  the  Christians,  nor  any 
other  name  by  which  the  immortal  soul  could  be  saved.  The  warriors  ap- 
plauded the  language  and  bold  action  of  their  chief,  and  henceforth  Chris- 
tianity made  a  rapid  conquest  of  this  tribe.  Thus  did  the  holy  words  of 
Father  White  fall  upon  good  ground,  and  bring  forth  a  hundred-fold. 

Rarely  has  the  conversion  of  any  Indian  tribe  been  so  speedily  and 
thoroughly  accomplished  through  the  impression  made  upon  one  of  its  mem- 
bers, even  though  a  chief. 

About  this  time  Tayac  accepted  Father  White's  invitation  to  visit  the 
town  of  St.  Mary's,  and  was  delighted  with  the  scenes  of  peace,  prosperity, 
and  happiness  which  there  met  his  eyes.  This  lord  of  the  forest  now 
eagerly  begged  to  be  baptized,  and  at  length  a  day  was  fixed.  The  ceremony 
took  place  on  the  5th  of  July,  1G04,  at  his  rude  capitol,  Kittamaquindi,  in  a 
chapel  built  of  bark  for  the  occasion.  "The  governor,"  says  the  letter  of 
1640,  "was  present  at  the  ceremony,  together  with  his  secretary  and  many 
others;  nor  was  anything  wanting  in  impressive  display  which  our  means 
could  supply." 

The  venerable  White,  the  friend  and  instructor  of  the  red  king,  officiated. 
Tayac,  his  queen,  their  little  son,  and  several  of  the  chief  men  of  the  tribe, 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IS  AMERICA  ^2-' 

were  solemnly  luhnittcd  into  the  Catholic  Ch  irch  by  the  regenerating  waters 
of  baptism.  The  converted  chief  assumed  the  name  of  Charles,  in  honor  of 
the  English  sovereign.  His  w  ife  took  the  name  of  Mary.  The  other  con- 
verts also  received  Christian  names. 

"  In  the  afternoon,"  says  the  letter  just  c)uotcd,  "the  king  and  (jucen 
were  united  in  matrimony  in  the  Christian  manner;  then  the  great  holy  cross 
was  erected,  in  carrying  which  to  its  destined  place  the  king,  governor,  secre- 
tary, and  others,  lent  their  hands  and  shoulders.  Two  of  us,  walking  before 
them,  at  the  same  time  chanted  the  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin." 

What  beauty  and  virtue  and  religion  mingle  in  this  happy  scene, described 
by  a  venerable  hand  over  two  hundred  years  ago!  In  which  of  the  other 
English  colonies  of  America  can  we  tind  anything  similar?  Among  them 
all,  Catholic  Maryland  alone  can  present  such  a  shining  spectacle,  such  an 
historical  thing  of  beauty  lighting  up  the  gloon.  C'f  the  past! 

Shortly  after  the  foregoing  event.  Father  White  was  prostrated  by  a 
severe  illness.  The  great  old  priest  in  performing  the  ceremonies  of  the 
sacred  rite  of  baptism — which  were  somewhat  long — contracted  a  fever,  and 
again  suffered  a  relapse.  Many  months  passed  away  before  he  was  restored 
to  good  health.  He  was  not  idle,  however,  but  revised  and  compiled  the 
grammar,  dictionary,  and  catechism  in  the  language  of  his  dusky  flock,  in 
order  to  aid  his  successor  in  the  mission. 

In  the  winter  of  1640-41,  the  charity  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  and  the  Catholic 
colonists  was  doubly  taxed.  Gaunt  famine  stalked  the  forests  of  Maryland, 
for  a  great  drought  had  marked  the  past  summer.  The  body"  of  the  poor 
Indian  was  now  as  sadly  in  need  of  nourishment  as  his  soul.  Wails  came  from 
the  wigwams,  where  formerly  echoed  naught  save  the  soimds  of  joy  and 
laughter.  "  That  we  might  not  appear  to  neglect  their  (the  Indians')  bo<lies," 
writes  one  of  the  missionaries,  "  for  the  care  of  whose  souls  we  had  made  so 
creat  a  voyage,  though  corn  was  sold  at  a  very  high  price,  nevertheless,  we 
considered  it  necessary  to  relieve  their  want  of  bread  by  assisting  them.  Amid 
these  cares  ....  we  passed  the  greater  part  of  the  winter." 

•'The  Catholics  who  live  in  the  colony,"  continues  the  same  writer,  "arc 
not  inferior  in  piety  to  those  who  live  in  other  countries;  but  in  urbanity  of 
manners,  according  to  the  judgment  of  those  who  have  visitetl  the  otlicr  colo- 
nies, arc  considered  far  superior  to  them.  Everywhere  the  ho]H-  of  harvest 
has  dawned;  and  while  each  one  of  us  is  anxious  evtii  unto  death  to  help  ni 
the  good  work,  various  things  happen  worthy  of  recital.     Two  of  the  ni<ist 


528  TRI.-dS  AKD  TRIUMPHS  01=  THE 

prominent  shall  be  stated  here,  in  one  of  which  the  Divine  mercy  was  mani- 
fest, in  the  other  the  Divine  justice. 

"On  the  clay  upon  which  a  certain  man  was  about  to  abjure  heresy,  and 
to  expiate  the  sins  of  his  past  life  by  confession,  a  fire  arose  in  the  interior  of 
his  house,  and  the  flame,  running  up  the  door-post,  burst  out  at  the  top. 
When  he  perceived  the  danger,  for  he  was  not  far  distant,  he  suddenly  called 
to  a  neighbor,  but  could  get  no  assistance  whatever.  He  then  ran  to  another 
but  could  find  only  two  who  would  go  with  him.  And  all  this  time  the  fire 
was  burning  a  house  of  dry  logs.  It  was  put  out,  however,  before  any  serious 
injury  had  happened.  Some  feared  lest,  by  this  unexpected  occurrence,  the 
man  might  be  deterred  from  conversion.  But  it  happened  far  otherwise- 
From  the  slight  damage  done  to  his  house  he  drew  the  conclusion  that  God 
was  kind  to  him,  and  approved  his  design  by  a  manifest  token.  Wherefore, 
uniting  a  great  reformation  in  morals  with  the  faith  he  professed,  he  now 
sheds  abroad  the  sweet  odor  of  a  good  example  upon  all  who  are  acquainted 
with  him. 

"A  certain  one,  wnen  he  had  felt  some  internal  drawings  of  the  faith  of 
God,  had  desired  prayer-beads  for  himself,  but  afterwards,  having  changed  his 
mind,  he  was  accustomed  to  smoke  them  in  his  pipe  with  tobacco,  after  they^ 
had  been  ground  to  powder, often  boasting  that  he  had  eaten  up  hx&Ave  Maria.- 
for  so  he  called  the  beads  by  the  telling  of  which  the  angelical  salutation  \\ 
recited.  But  the  Divine  vengeance  did  not  let  the  wicked  crime  go  unpun- 
ished, for  scarcely  a  year  having  passed,  on  the  returning  eve  of  the  day  on 
which  he  had  abandoned  his  purpose  of  embracing  the  Catholic  Faith,  a  more 
sacrilegious  playfulness  possessed  him.  This  was  even  noticed  by  his  com. 
panions.  In  the  afternoon,  when  he  had  betaken  himself  to  the  river  for  tht 
purpose  of  swimming,  scarcely  had  he  touched  the  water,  when  a  huge  fish 
having  seized  the  wicked  man,  before  he  could  retreat  to  the  bank,  tore  away 
at  a  bite  a  large  portion  of  his  thigh,  by  the  pain  of  which  most-merited  lacer- 
ation the  unhappy  wretch  was  hurried  away  from  the  living — the  Divine  jus- 
tice bringing  it  about  that  he,  who  a  little  while  before  boasted  that  he  had 
eaten  up  his  Ave  Maria  beads,  should  see  his  own  flesh  devoured  even  while 
he  was  yet  living." 

In  1643,  we  find  Father  White  again  laboring  among  the  Pascatoway 
Indians.  Like  Moses  of  old,  it  appears,  age  had  neither  dimmed  his  sight  nor 
diminished  his  vigor.  But  he  was  not  without  his  troubles;  and,  of  course, 
we  must  be  pardoned  if  we  introduce  a   rather  quaint  and  curious  quotation 


CATHOLIC  CIU'RCH  IS  AMERICA  529 

from  the  annual  letter  of  1642:  "  Father  White,"  says  the  writer,  "suffert^l 
no  little  inconvenience  from  a  hard-hearted  and  troublesome  captain  of  New 
England,  whom  he  had  engaged  for  the  purpose  of  taking  him  and  his  effects, 
and  from  whom  he  was  in  fear  a  little  while  after,  not  without  cause,  that  he 
would  be  cast  either  into  the  sea,  or  be  carried  with  his  property  to  New 
England,  which  is  full  of  Puritan  Calvinists — that  is,  of  all  Calvinist  heresy. 
But  silently  committing  the  thing  to  God,  at  length  in  safety  he  reached 
Potomac,  in  which  harbor,  when  they  had  cast  anchor,  the  ship  stuck  so  fast, 
bound  by  a  great  quantity  of  ice,  that  for  the  space  of  seventeen  days  it  could 
not  be  moved.  Walking  on  the  ice,  as  if  on  the  land,  the  father  departed 
for  the  town.  When  the  ice  was  broken  up,  the  ship,  driven  and  jammed  by 
the  force  and  violence  of  the  ice,  sunk,  the  cargo  being  in  a  great  measure 
recovered. 

"By  this  misfortune  Father  White  was  detained  longer  on  his  visit, 
namely,  seven  weeks;  for  he  found  it  necessary  to  bring  another  ship  from 
St.  Mary's.  But  the  spiritual  advantage  of  souls  readily  compensated  for 
that  delay;  for  during  that  time  was  added  to  the  church  the  ruler  of  that 
little  village,  with  the  other  principal  men  of  its  inhabitants,  who  received 
the  faith  of  Christ  and  baptism.  Besides  these,  also  another,  together  with 
many  of  his  friends;  a  third  likewise,  with  his  wife,  his  son,  and  a  friend;  a 
fourth,  in  like  manner,  with  another  of  no  ignoble  standing  among  his  tribe. 
By  their  example,  the  people  are  prepared  to  receive  the  Faith,  whenever  we 
will  have  leisure  to  instruct  them  by  catechism." 

"  Not  long  after,"  continues  the  same  letter,  "  the  young  princess — jis 
they  call  her  at  Pascatoway — was  baptized  in  the  town  of  St.  Mary's,  and  is 
being  educated  there.     She  is  now  a  proficient  in  the  English  language." 

At  this  time  an  Indian  war  broke  out,  and  the  Susquehannas  and  other 
tribes  poured  down  on  Maryland  and  its  allies.  The  hostile  savages  attacked 
a  settlement,  massacred  the  people,  and  carried  off  the  spoil.  Pascatoway 
wr.3  also  in  peril,  as  it  was  constantly  exposed  to  attacks  from  the  enemy. 
The  mission  was  removed  to  Potopaco,  where  nearly  the  whole  tril>e 
embraced  the  Faith.  At  this  time  Father  White  and  the  other  missionaries 
made  several  excursions  up  the  Patuxent  River,  and  in  various  parts,  this 
being  the  safest  and  best  means,  on  account  of  the  war.  Those  missionary 
journeys  are  thus  described  by  one  of  themselves: 

"We  sail  in  an  open  boat— the  father,  an  interpreter,  and  servant.  In  a 
calm   or   adverse   wind,  two  row  and  the  third  steers  the  boat.      Wc  carry  a 


530  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

basket  of  bread,  cheese,  butter,  dried  roasted  ears  of  corn,. beans  and  some 
meal,  and  a  chest  containing  the  sacerdotal  vestments,  the  slab  or  altar  for 
Mass,  the  wine  used  in  the  holy  sacrifice,  and  blessed  baptismal  water.  In 
another  chest  we  carry  knives,  hoes,  little  bells,  fishing-hooks,  needles,  thread, 
and  other  trifles,  for  presents  to  the  Indians.  We  take  two  mats — a  small 
one  to  shelter  us  from  the  sun,  and  a  larger  one  to  protect  us  from  the  rain. 
The  servant  carries  implements  for  hunting,  and  cooking  utensils.  We 
endeavor  to  reach  some  Indian  village  or  English  plantation  at  night-fall. 
If  we  do  not  succeed,  then  the  father  secures  our  boat  to  the  bank,  collects 
wood  and  makes  a  fire,  while  the  other  two  go  out  to  hunt;  and  after  cook- 
ing our  game,  we  take  some  refreshments,  and  then  lie  down  to  sleep  around 
the  fire.  When  threatened  with  rain,  we  erect  a  tent,  covering  it  with  our 
large  mat.  And  thanks  be  to  God,  we  enjoy  our  scanty  fare  and  hard  beds, 
as  much  as  if  we  were  accommodated  with  the  luxuries  of  Europe.  The 
consolation  we  find  in  the  promises  of  the  Almighty  to  those  who  labor  faith- 
fully in  His  service,  and  the  watchful  care  He  seems  to  have  of  us,  gives  us 
strength  to  bear  up  against  difficulties,  so  much  so,  that  it  is  surprising  that 
we  are  able  to  accomplish  what  we  do." 

This  kind  of  life  was  not  by  any  means  free  from  danger,  but  to  Fatner 
White  and  his  colleagues  life  was  less  dear  than  duty.  Several  thrilling 
adventures  and  miraculous  cures  also  marked  this  period.  On  one  occasion 
an  Anacostan  Indian,  a  Christian,  in  making  his  way  through  a  wood, 
dropped  a  little  behind  his  companions,  when  some  hostile  Susquehannas 
suddenly  fell  upon  him.  In  their  fury  the  savages  pierced  him  with  a  light, 
strong  spear  of  locust-wood — from  which  they  made  their  arrows — tipped 
with  a  sharp  iron  point.  The  deadly  weapon  passed  through  the  unhappy 
man  from  side  to  side,  about  the  width  of  a  hand  below  the  arm-pit,  and  quite 
near  the  heart.  The  wound  was  described  as  "  two  fingers  broad  at  each 
side,"  Thinking  they  had  killed  the  Anacostan,  the  Susquehannas  fled.  His 
companions,  however,  who  had  gone  on  before,  were  recalled  by  the  sudden 
noise  of  the  brief  struggle.  They  carried  the  wounded  man  from  the  land  to 
the  boat  which  was  near — and  thence  to  his  home  at  Pascatoway.  Here 
they  left  him  speechless  and  out  of  his  senses. 

The  accident  was  reported  to  the  venerable  White,  who  was  always  at 
hand,  or  going  about  doing  good.  He  hastened  to  the  wigwam  the  follow- 
ing morning,  and  found  the  unhappy  Indian  before  the  door,  lying  on  a  mat 
near  the  fire,  and  enclosed  by  a  circle  of  his  tribe.     He  was  not,  as  the  day 


CATHOLIC  CIILRCII  IX  AMERICA  531 

previously,  speechless  or  out  of  his  senses;  but  he  expected  death  every 
moment. 

The  poor  Anacostan  joined  his  mournful  voice  with  the  song  of  his 
friends,  who  stood  around,  as  was  the  custom  when  the  more  distinguished 
men  of  the  tribe  were  about  to  die.  But  some  of  his  friends  were  Christians, 
and  they  sang  with  musical  sweetness:  "  May  he  live,  O  God!  if  it  so  please 
Thee."  Again  and  again,  they  repeated  the  sweet  and  plaintive  air,  until 
Father  White  liegan  to  speak  Id  the  (lyiiii?  niaii,  who  knew  the  aged  Jesuit, 
and  showed  him  his  wounds.  The  man  of  God  saw  the  danger  at  a  glance, 
and  briefly  running  over  the  chief  articles  of  Faith,  heard  the  Indian's  con- 
fession, and  gave  him  absolution.  Then  elevating  his  soul  with  hope  and 
confidence  in  God,  he  recited  tiie  Gospel  which  is  to  be  read  for  the  sick,  and 
the  Litany  of  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin,  and  told  the  dying  warrior  to  commend 
himself  to  her  most  holy  intercession,  and  to  call  unceasingly  on  the  blessed 
name  of  Jesus.  Father  White  then  applied  the  sacred  relic  of  the  Most  Holy 
Cross — which  he  carried  in  a  casket  hung  about  his  neck — to  the  wound  on 
each  side.  The  missionary  was  now  obliged  to  leave.  At  some  distance 
away,  an  aged  Indian  was  near  death,  and  he  wished  to  be  baptized.  As 
Father  White  departed  from  the  wigwam,  he  directed  the  bystanders  to  carry 
the  Anacostan, when  he  breathed  his  last,  to  the  chapel  for  thepurposc  of  burial. 

It  was  noon  wiicn  the  apostle  of  Maryland  finally  directed  his  steps 
towards  the  point  where  the  aged  Indian  expected  his  ministrations.  The 
following  day,  at  the  same  hour,  as  he  sailed  along  in  his  boat,  he  saw  two 
Invliaiis  paddling  towards  him.  When  they  came  alongside  one  of  them  put 
his  foot  into  the  father's  boat.  "  While  the  priest,"  says  the  annual  letter  uf 
1643,  "gazed  on  the  man  with  fixed  eyes,  being  in  doubt,  for  in  a  measure  he 
recognized  him  by  his  features,  who  he  was,  but  in  part  recollecting  in  what 
state  he  had  left  him  tlie  day  before,  when  the  Indian  on  a  sudden  threw 
open  his  cloak  and  disclosed  the  cicatrices  of  the  wounds,  or  rather  a  red  spot 
on  each  side,  as  a  trace  of  the  wound,  at  once  removed  all  doubt  from  him. 
Moreover,  in  language  full  of  joy,  he  exclaimed  that  he  was  entirely  well, 
nor  from  the  hour  at  which  the  father  hail  left  yesterday  had  he  ceased  to 
invoke  the  most  holy  name  of  Jesus,  to  whom  he  attributed  his  recovered 
healtii!  All  wIki  were  in  the  boat  with  Father  White,  after  they  investigated 
the  thing,  both  by  the  senses  of  seeing  and  hearing,  breaking  forth  into  praise 
of  Ciod  and  thanksgiving,  were  greatly  rejoiced  anil  cunt'irmeil  in  the  Faith 
at  this  miracle." 


532  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

The  gigantic  labors  of  Fatiicr  White  in  Maryland  were  now  approach- 
ing their  termination.  By  himself  and  his  companions  in  ten  years  the  Gospel 
•lad  been  preached  with  success  to  the  Indians  at  St.  Mary's;  at  Kent  Island, 
in  the  Chesapeake  Bay;  at  Pascatoway  and  Port  Tobacco,  on  the  Maryland 
side  of  the  Potomac;  at  Patowmeck  town,  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  same 
river;  at  Mattapany  and  Pawtuxent  town,  on  the  Patuxent  River;  and  at 
many  other  places  which  were  visited  by  the  missionaries  in  their  aquatic 
expeditions. 

But  misfortune  now  frowned  on  Maryland,  its  people,  and  its  beautiful 
scenes  of  missionary  toil.  A  party  of  Puritans  were  expelled  from  Virginia 
in  1642,  and  seeking  refuge  in  Maryland,  were  received  with  open  arms. 
The  new-comers,  however,  soon  began  to  manifest  a  spirit  of  insurrection. 
In  Clayborne,  a  bold  and  lawless  man,  who  was  plotting  to  overthrow  the 
government  of  Lord  Baltimore,  they  found  a  worthy  leader;  and,  with  the 
basest  ingratitude,  those  vile  men  raised  their  hands  against  the  kind  friends 
who  had  sheltered  and  succored  them  in  the  hour  of  need.  Turning  about 
like  vipers,  they  bit  the  very  benefactors  who  had  warmed  them  into  life. 
Clayborne  and  his  Protestant  mob  triumphed  in  1644.  Governor  Calvert  was 
obliged  to  fly,  and  with  him  departed  peace,  justice,  and  religion.  Many  of 
the  Maryland  Catholics  were  banished,  and  robbed  of  their  possessions. 
Lawlessness  and  intolerance  ravaged  the  country.  The  altars  of  religion  were 
overthrown,  and  even  the  venerable  apostle  of  Maryland  and  the  other  Jesuit 
fathers  were  seized,  put  in  irons,  and  like  criminals  shipped  to  England,  and 
there  cast  into  loathsome  dungeons. 

Father  Andrew  White,  despite  his  earnest  desire,  had  not  the  happiness 
of  returning  to  America.  After  many  years'  confinement  he  was  banished 
from  England,  but  by  his  superior's  orders  at  once  returned  again,  braving 
the  rigor  of  the  penal  laws  against  missionaries.  He  devoted  the  closing 
years  of  his  life  to  the  same  ministry  in  which  he  had  spent  his  youth,  and 
the  apostle  of  Maryland  died  at  London,  in  1657,  one  of  the  holiest  members 
of  an  order  which  has  produced  so  many  saints. 

Meanwhile  his  fellow  religious  maintained  their  ground  m  America, 
amid  the  constant  disorders  in  which  the  colony  languished,  and  for  more 
than  a  century  the  English  Jesuits,  in  uninterrupted  succession,  kept  alive  the 
faith  of  the  settlers  amid  the  persecutions  of  which  they  were  the  victims, 
and  of  which  we  cannot  omit  some  account. 

The  Catholics  had  already  been  persecuted,  but  they  did  not  learn  to 


CATIIOUC  CHURCH  /.V  AMERICA  533 

pel  icute.  Composing  a  majority  in  the  assembly  of  1649,  thev  passed  the 
famous  "act  concerning  religion,"  which  provided  that  "  no  person  whatso- 
ever, professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  shall  be  molested  for  or  in  respect 
of  his  or  her  religion,  or  the  free  exercise  thereof."  This  «'  toleration 
act"  was  the  first  ordinance  of  its  kind  known  in  North  America.  The  noble 
founder  of  the  colony  had  even  drafted  oaths,  binding  his  deputies  and  their 
council  not  to  interfere  with  any  man's  conscience.  Thus  the  Episcopalian, 
excluded  from  New  England,  had  a  home  in  Maryland  and  a  seat  in  its 
assembly;  the  Puritan,  driven  from  Virginia,  sat  at  the  same  council  board 
with  the  Episcopalian.  Yet  the  conduct  of  these  Catholic  Marylanders  was 
ungratefully  scorned,  their  example  of  liberality  was  nowhere  followed. 

In  1654  the  provincial  assembly  deprived  Catholics  of  their  civil  rights, 
and  decreed  that  liberty  of  conscience  should  not  extend  to  "  popery,  prelacy, 
or  licentiousness  of  opinion,"  an  act  which  has  drawn  from  the  historian  Ban. 
croft  this  reHeclion:  "The  Puritans  had  neither  the  gratitude  to  respect  the 
rights  of  the  government,  by  which  they  had  been  received  and  fostered,  nor 
magnanimity  to  continue  the  toleration  to  which  alone  they  were  indebted  for 
their  residence  in  the  colony." 

In  1692  the  assemby  established  the  Anglican  Church  throughout  the 
colony  of  Maryland,  dividing  the  counties  into  parishes,  and  imposing  a  tax 
on  citizens  of  every  denomination  for  the  support  of  the  Protestant  clergy. 
While  the  Catholics  were  masters  of  the  government,  they  made  no  such 
exaction  for  the  support  of  their  missionaries.  The  Jesuits  received  conces- 
sions of  land  on  the  same  terms  as  other  colonists,  but  all  was  voluntary  in 
the  offerings  of  the  faithful;  and  now  Catholics  were  compelled  to  p.ny  for 
the  support  of  a  creed  which  persecuted  them  ! 

In  1704  a  new  law,  entitled  "An  act  to  prevent  the  increase  of  popery  in 
the  province,"  prohibited  all  bishops  and  priests  from  saying  Mass,  exercising 
the  spiritual  functions  of  their  ministry,  or  endeavoring  to  gain  converts;  it 
also  forbid  Catholics  to  teach,  and  enabled  a  Catholic  child,  by  becoming  a 
Protestant,  to  exact  from  its  Catholic  parents  its  proportion  of  his  property, 
as  though  they  were  dead.  Catholics  were,  however,  pcrmitte<l  to  luar  Mass 
in  their  own  families  and  on  their  own  grounds,  and  only  by  this  exception 
could  the  Catholic  worship  be  practiced  in  Maryhuul  for  seventy  years. 

The  property  of  the  Jesuits  rested  on  the  compact  between  Lord  Balti- 
more and  the  colonists,  entitled  "Conditions  of  Plantations,"  by  which  every 
colonist  settiin<'  with   five  ablc-boiliid   hiliKteis.  was  entitled  to  two  thousand 


534  TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

acres  of  land  at  a  moderate  rate.  Moreover,  the  Indian  kings  whom  they 
had  converted,  had  made  gratuitous  concessions  of  land  to  the  Church. 

According  to  the  law,  the  Jesuits  could  exercise  the  ministry  only  in  their 
own  house  and  for  their  own  servants;  and  the  size  of  the  chapels  corre- 
sponded to  this  ostensible  design,  and  they  were  always  connected  with  the 
house.  Of  course,  however,  the  Catholics  eluded  the  letter  of  the  law,  and 
these  houses  became  the  sole  refuge  of  religion  in  Maryland. 

In  1706  an  act  authorized  the  meetings  of  the  Quakers,  so  that  in  a 
colony  founded  by  Catholics,  Catholics  were  the  only  victims  of  the  intoler- 
ance of  the  dominant  party.  During  the  following  years  successive  laws 
deprived  them  of  the  elective  franchise,  unless  they  took  the  test  oath  and 
renounced  their  faith.  The  executive  power,  too,  often  arbitrarily  issued 
proclamations  by  its  own  authority,  "to  take  children  from  the  pernicious 
influence  of  Catholic  parents,"  and  the  assembly  voted  that  Papists  should 
pay  double  the  tax  le\ied  on  Protestants.  The  animosity  against  Catliolics 
at  last  became  such  that  they  were  forbidden  to  appear  in  certain  parts  of  the 
towns,  and  they  were  in  a  manner  shut  up  in  a  sort  of  Ghetto. 

Many  of  the  Catholics  now  sought  to  escape  this  oppression,  and  Daniel 
Carroll,  father  of  the  future  bishop  of  Baltimore,  sailed  to  France  in  1752  to 
negotiate  for  the  emigration  of  all  the  Maryland  Catholics  to  Louisiana. 
For  this  purpose  he  had  several  interviews  with  the  ministry  of  Louis  XV, 
in  order  to  convince  them  of  the  immense  resources  of  the  valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi; but  the  government  which  abandoned  Canada  to  England,  and  sold 
Louisiana  to  Sj^ain,  was  not  able  to  appreciate  the  forecast  of  Carroll,  and  his 
offers  were  rejected. 

During  all  this  period  of  oppression  the  Catholics  of  Maryland,  with  rare 
exceptions,  remained  faithful  to  the  Church,  and  as  their  missionaries  afforded 
them  means  of  Catholic  education,  many  of  the  younger  members,  to  pursue 
more  extensive  studies,  crossed  the  ocean.  Many  of  both  sexes  in  France 
and  Belgium  entered  religious  orders;  some  rpturning  as  Jesuit  fathers  to 
repay  the  care  bestowed  on  themselves;  others,  by  their  prayers  in  silent 
cloisters,  obtaining  graces  and  spiritual  blessings  for  their  distant  Maryland. 
Of  the  Jesuits  who  labored  in  ]\Liryland  prior  to  tiie  Revolution,  a  great  many 
were  natives  of  the  province,  and  we  find  others  on  the  mission  in  England. 

The  penal  laws  prevented  any  emigration  of  Catholics  to  Maryland,  and, 
indeed,  the  only  accession  to  their  numbers  which  the  faithful  in  Maryland 
received  from  abroad,  was  a  number  of  Acadians,  who,  after  beholding  the 


CATHOLIC  CHVRCU  /.V  AMERICA  535 

devastation  of  their  happy  homes  on  the  Bay  of  Funcly,  were  torn  from 
their  native  shores  in  1755,  anil  thrown  destitute  on  the  coast  of  the  various 
colonies.  Those  who  were  set  ashore  in  Maryland  seem  to  have  hcen  more 
happy  than  most  of  their  suffering  countrymen.  For  a  considerable  period 
they  enjoyed  the  presence  of  a  priest — the  Rev.  Mr.  Leclerc — and  raised  a 
church  on  a  hill  outside  of  Baltimore.  On  the  departure  of  this  excellent 
man,  who  left  them  vestments  and  altar  plate,  these  Acadians  had  to  rely  on 
the  occasional  visits  of  the  Jesuit  fathers. 

Meanwhile  the  Anglican  clergy  in  Maryland,  fattening  on  their  tithes, 
lived  in  plenty  and  disorder  amid  their  slaves,  without  in  the  least  troubling 
their  minds  about  preaching  to  their  flocks.  So  notorious  is  this  disorderly 
conduct  of  the  colonial  clergy,  that  the  Protestant  bishop  of  Maryland  a  few 
years  since  e.xclaimed:  "Often  as  I  hear  and  read  authentic  evidence  of  the 
character  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  clergy  in  the  province  of  Marylaiul  two 
generations  since,  I  am  struck  with  wonder  that  God  spared  a  church  so 
universally  corrupt,  and  did  not  utterly  remove  its  candlestick  out  of  its  place." 

As  a  contrast  we  give  the  following  address  of  the  legislature  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  Maryland,  on  the  i6th  of  March,  1697: 

"  On  the  complaint  of  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  that  the 
popish  priests  in  Charles  county  do,  of  their  own  accord,  in  this  violent  and 
raging  mortality  in  that  county,  make  it  their  Itusiness  to  go  up  and  down  the 
county  to  persons'  houses  when  dying  and  frantic,  and  endeavor  to  seduce  and 
make  proselytes  of  them,  and  in  such  condition  boldly  presume  to  administer 
the  sacraments  to  them ;  we  humbly  entreat  your  excellency  to  issue  your 
proclamation  to  restrain  and  prohibit  such  their  extravagant  and  presumptuous 
behavior." 

Thus  the  wide  difference  between  a  ministry  of  truth  anil  a  ministry  of 
error  appeared  in  Maryland  as  elsewhere,  the  former  devoting  life  in  tlie 
service  of  their  neighbor,  the  latter  only  thinking  of  the  enjoyments  of  life. 

This  degradation  of  tiie  Anglican  clergy  at  last  sapped  all  their  authority, 
nnd  the  feelings  of  the  Protestants  towards  their  Catholic  countrymen  began 
gradually  to  change.  When  discontent  with  the  mother  country  awakened 
iileas  of  an  insurrection  throughout  the  colonies,  it  became  important  to  con- 
ciliate the  Catholics;  and  both  parties,  Whigs  and  Tories,  vied  with  each  othcl 
in  emancipating  them.  The  convention  in  1774  made  the  following  ap|x-al 
to  the  people: 

"  As  our  opposition  l<>  the  settled  plan  of    the    British    administration   to 


536  TRIALS  .IXn  TRIUMPHS  OF  THE 

enslave  America  will  be  strengthened  by  a  union  of  all  ranks  of  men  within 
this  province,  we  do  most  earnestly  recommend  that  all  former  differences 
about  religion  or  politics,  and  all  private  animosities  and  quarrels  of  every 
kind,  from  henceforth  cease,  and  be  forever  buried  in  oblivion;  and  we 
entreat,  we  conjure  every  man  by  his  duty  to  God,  his  country,  and  his  pos- 
terity, cordially  to  unite  in  defense  of  our  common  rights  and  liberties." 

The  act  emancipating  the  Catholics  of  Maryland  followed  close  on  this 
appeal ;  but,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  wrested  from  the  party  in  power  by  the 
critical  position  of  affairs,  and  did  not  spring  from  any  noble  motive.  This 
should  never  be  forgotten  when  Protestants  boast  of  the  toleration  which 
they  allow  the  Church  in  the  United  States. 


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